Bombay HC Upholds Chanda Kocchar's Termination

The Bombay High Court said the termination of Chanda Kochhar from the post of CEO of ICICI Bank was 'valid' and dismissed her interim application regarding the post-retirement benefits. A single bench of Justice R I Chagla also directed the former ICICI CEO not deal with the bank's 6.90 lakh shares she had acquired in 2018. It asked Kochhar to file an affidavit within six months disclosing dealings made with respect to the shares.

This case dates back to May 2018, when ICICI filed an inquiry against Kochhar following a complaint against her alleged role in granting out-of-turn loans worth Rs 3,250 crore to the Videocon Group, which benefitted Deepak Kochhar, her husband. Kochhar went on leave after the episode and applied for early retirement, which was accepted later. The bank had then said it had treated her separation as 'termination for cause' and had also sought regulatory approval from Reserve Bank of India for Kochchar's termination of appointment as is mandatory under the provisions of the RBI Act.