To:
National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)
Ministry of Finance, Government of India
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India
 
Background
Between 2010 and 2019, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. (DHFL), once a AAA-rated housing finance company with clean audit reports, collapsed under the weight of a reportedly massive fraud. Investigations later revealed the siphoning of over ₹31,000 crore through shell companies, fictitious loans, and fraudulent accounting practices.

Despite these glaring alleged irregularities, leading statutory auditors (notably Chaturvedi & Shah LLP) and top credit rating agencies (CARE, ICRA, CRISIL) continued to give glowing reports and ratings to DHFL—even as warning signs were present in the public domain.

This petition is a call to action. It seeks structured accountability, not vengeance. It asks for a transparent review, legal enforcement of duties, and long-overdue reforms to protect the public from future financial disasters.

• From AAA-Ratings to Haircut-Ashes: Rating and Auditing Gaps in the DHFL “Scam” VIEW HERE ⤡ 

🙏 Why This Matters
Thousands of ordinary depositors—including senior citizens, widows, pensioners, and salaried professionals—placed their trust in the judgments of these auditors and rating agencies. That trust was betrayed.

Even today, many affected families have recovered only a tiny fraction of their life savings. Their pain is compounded by the fact that no meaningful accountability has yet been enforced on the professionals whose endorsements enabled the scam.

 
🔍 What Went Wrong
✒️ Auditors’ Lapses:
Failed to detect or report irregularities in DHFL’s financials for years.
Did not report fraud as required under Section 143(12) of the Companies Act, 2013.
Issued unqualified opinions despite evidence of:

• Related-party transactions
• Evergreening of loans
• Shell company disbursements

Legal Provisions Implicated:

• Section 132, Companies Act, 2013 – NFRA's powers to investigate and penalize
• Section 143(12) – Mandatory reporting of fraud
• Section 447 – Punishment for fraud
• Section 448 – False statements
• ICAI Code of Ethics (2020) – Clauses on independence, due diligence, and objectivity

 
📉 Rating Agencies’ Failures:
Continued assigning AAA ratings to DHFL bonds until just before default.
Ratings were not aligned with actual risk or financial performance.
Ignored public whistleblower allegations, falling asset quality, and governance concerns.
Legal Provisions Implicated:

• SEBI (CRA) Regulations, 1999 – Especially Regulation 3, 13, 15, and 24
• Section 12, SEBI Act, 1992 – Fiduciary duty of financial intermediaries
• Section 11 & 15HA, SEBI Act – Investigative and punitive powers for misleading reports

 📌 Our Key Demands
✅ 1. Independent Disciplinary Action:
a) NFRA and ICAI must initiate disciplinary proceedings against auditors involved.
b) SEBI must evaluate and act upon the role of credit rating agencies.
Actions must be taken under:

• Companies Act, 2013
• Chartered Accountants Act, 1949
• SEBI CRA Regulations

✅ 2. Restitution for Affected Depositors:
Establish a compensation mechanism financed by penalized agencies.
Evaluate class-action or consumer protection remedies under:

• Consumer Protection Act, 2019
• Common law tort doctrines of misrepresentation and negligence

✅ 3. Transparency in Resolution Process:
Public disclosure of:

• CoC meeting minutes under Section 21, IBC, given that despite repeated RTI appeals by certain affected depositors of the DHFL, the CoC's expenditures were not made publicly available by the concerned agencies. View the following in this regard: 

1. RBI-appointed CoC for DHFL’s total expenditure: An RTI to the RBI VIEW HERE ⤡
2. Autopsy of RTI in the Police Universe of the Indian Polity VIEW HERE ⤡
3. RTI on RTIs: After the Autopsy…VIEW HERE ⤡

• RBI and NHB inspection reports under Section 35, Banking Regulation Act
• Audit working papers (within legal limits)

✅ 4. Structural Reforms:

• Rotate statutory auditors regularly.
• Reform CRA models to address conflict of interest from "issuer-pays" system.
• Enhance NFRA’s independence and scope.
• Introduce early warning systems for financial frauds.

 🧓🏼 Voices from the Ground
Many depositors affected by the DHFL default are elderly individuals living off modest incomes. They relied on financial reports and AAA ratings when choosing to invest. Their stories reflect a collective moral failure, not just a technical lapse.

We have already called for the establishment of a Truth Commission to reclaim justice for the DHFL victims. One can access and support the appeal by signing it HERE.

✊🏼 Our Appeal
We are not seeking retribution—we seek justice, democratic truth, and transparent public trust in the financial system.
Let this not be another case where white-collar impunity prevails over the suffering of ordinary people.

We urge you to:

✔️ Investigate the roles of auditors and rating agencies
✔️ Enforce accountability under applicable laws
✔️ Provide restitution to affected depositors
✔️ Reform structural weaknesses in oversight frameworks

 
Let this be a turning point in India's financial and regulatory history.

Let us ensure that "AAA" means trust, not tragedy.

On Behalf of the Distressed DHFL Victims,

Once in a Blue Moon Academia (OBMA) VIEW HERE ⤡

 
🖊️ Sign this petition. Share widely. Help bring justice to lakhs, who trusted and lost everything.

#DHFLScam, #JusticeForDepositors, #FinancialIntegrity, #AccountableAuditors, #RatingAgencyReform, #FinancialAbuse, #Seize_Cronies_Fairplay_for_DHFL_Victims, #alleged_dawood_mirchi_rkw_dhfl_bjp_collusion