The Telangana High Court has granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to pursue legal action against Ramesh Gelli, the former Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Global Trust Bank, along with Sridhar Subasri, the Executive Director (ED), in a case related to violations of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

Justice EV Venugopal has overturned a special CBI court's decision from 2010, which had discharged the accused under provisions of the PC Act on the basis that they were not considered public servants.

The Court observed that according to Sector 46A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Managing Director and the Executive Director of a bank operating under a license issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are classified as public servants.

Furthermore, the Court based its decision on a Supreme Court ruling that established that Gelli and Subasri were deemed public servants, consequently subjecting them to prosecution under the PC Act.

In the case filed in 2005, the CBI alleged that Gelli and Subasri, along with others, conspired to defraud the bank and incurred losses amounting to ₹10.25 crore. The accused were formally charged in 2008. However, in 2010, the trial court dismissed the charges against them, citing that they could not be prosecuted under the PC Act. This decision was based on a Bombay High Court ruling that favored Gelli and Subasri in this matter.

Subsequently, the CBI contested the trial court's ruling before the High Court, arguing that Gelli and Subasri meet the criteria of public servants as defined by the PC Act. This assertion was supported by Section 46-A of the Banking Regulation Act, which specifies that both the CMD and the ED are to be recognized as public servants.

Justice Venugopal concurred with the arguments presented by the CBI and mentioned that the accusations against Gelli and Subasri revolve around their purported misuse of their official capacities when entrusted with public funds.