Fortis Healthcare has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order that directed a forensic audit into a series of transactions involving the hospital company, its former promoters and other entities. The move adds another chapter to a long-running legal dispute connected with Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo and former Fortis promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh.
Fortis filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court on September 16, challenging the Delhi High Court’s August 31, 2026 order. The High Court had appointed S Ramanand Aiyar & Co as the forensic auditor and directed the firm to complete its examination within six months.
What Is the Dispute About?
The legal proceedings are linked to Daiichi Sankyo’s efforts to enforce a 2016 arbitral award against the Singh brothers. The Singapore arbitration award required the former promoters to pay approximately ₹2,562 crore, excluding subsequent interest. Daiichi has stated that the outstanding amount has grown substantially over the years.
The dispute has focused partly on the reduction of the Singh brothers’ shareholding in Fortis and the alleged dissipation of assets that could potentially have been used to satisfy the award.
The Delhi High Court’s forensic audit is intended to reconstruct transactions and examine the movement of Fortis shares and related assets. It also covers transactions involving financial institutions and the subsequent change in ownership of Fortis.
Fortis Challenges the Audit
In its Supreme Court petition, Fortis has argued that the company was not a party to the original arbitration proceedings and was not itself a judgment debtor. The company has questioned the legal basis for subjecting it to a broad forensic investigation concerning actions attributed to its former promoters.
Fortis has also raised concerns about the wider implications of the High Court’s directions for corporate and arbitration law. According to reports, the company maintains that its ownership structure changed significantly after the Singh brothers’ exit, with Malaysia-based IHH Healthcare subsequently becoming the controlling shareholder.
IHH and RHT Transactions Under Review
The forensic examination also covers the transaction through which IHH Healthcare’s investment vehicle Northern TK Venture acquired a substantial stake in Fortis in 2018. The audit will examine aspects of the transaction, including approvals, regulatory filings, share movements and the use of funds.
Another area under scrutiny involves RHT Health Trust, a Singapore-based healthcare investment structure connected with Fortis’s earlier ownership arrangements. The High Court’s directions include examination of transactions involving RHT as part of the broader investigation.
What Happens Next?
Fortis’s Supreme Court petition now puts the High Court’s forensic-audit directions before the country’s highest court. The Supreme Court’s proceedings will determine how the challenge progresses and whether the disputed audit directions remain in effect.
The case remains part of a much larger legal battle involving Fortis, Daiichi Sankyo, the company’s former promoters, lenders and IHH Healthcare. As the proceedings continue, the Supreme Court’s handling of Fortis’s challenge could provide further clarity on the scope of corporate responsibility in complex enforcement and asset-recovery disputes.