MUMBAI, June 21 -- The legal dispute between HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan and the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMM Trust), which runs Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, escalated this week with the trust filing a Rs.1,000-crore defamation suit against Jagdishan. This move comes just two days after Jagdishan approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash an FIR that accuses him of accepting a Rs.2.05 crore bribe in a case linked to the trust. The civil suit alleges Jagdishan made "malicious, false, and defamatory statements" against the trust and its permanent trustee, Prashant Mehta, as part of a coordinated campaign to damage the institution's credibility and disrupt its functioning as a public charity. In addition to the defamation suit, the trust has also filed a criminal complaint before a Girgaon magistrate court, which on June 16 issued notices to Jagdishan, HDFC Bank CEO Madhu Chibbar, the bank's corporate communications head, and others. The trust claims these steps mark a broader effort to hold HDFC Bank's leadership accountable for what it calls a "sustained smear campaign." The trust said it was committed to following due legal process, unlike Jagdishan, "who has attempted to label valid FIRs and judicial orders as frivolous." It also dismissed HDFC's recent claim that Splendour Gems-a Mehta family-owned firm-owes the bank Rs.65 crore, calling it a "figment of imagination." The trust said the bank had earlier cited an outstanding of just Rs.5 crore. It further raised serious allegations against Jagdishan, accusing him of accepting free medical treatment from the hospital, being involved in the Rs.2.05 crore bribe with former trustee Chetan Mehta, and approving Rs.48 crore in deposits without the knowledge of the trust's founder-trustees or court clearance. The deposits, it said, violated an existing court injunction and amounted to contempt of court. Denying any wrongdoing, the trust stated it was not a borrower but a lender to HDFC Bank, having placed Rs.48 crore in fixed deposits and bonds. "This isn't merely a legal battle but a fight for institutional integrity," said Prashant Mehta. "Falsehoods cannot be allowed to overpower facts." In his plea before the High Court two days ago, Jagdishan has strongly denied all allegations, calling the FIR "malicious and vindictive" and accusing the complainant of misusing the name of the Lilavati Trust to settle personal scores....