On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to consider a statement by former ICICI Bank CEO and CEO Chanda Kochhar against her firing last year.
A bank chaired by Judge SK Kaul said: “We are not willing to interfere with the contested order. This falls within the scope of the private contract between the bank and the employee.”
The Mumbai High Court in March this year had dismissed his written request against the termination letter issued by ICICI Bank in February 2019 for alleged lapses in complying with the disclosure rules on conflicts of interest. The High Court had said that the matter was not under judicial jurisdiction.
Kochhar faced quid pro quo allegations involving her husband Deepak Kochhar in connection with loans made to the Videocon group.
Kochhar, led by lead counsel Mukul Rohatgi, challenged the validity of the Bombay High Court order that dismissed a petition filed by her against the dismissal. The attorney said the termination was invalid because it was taken without prior approval from the RBI, in violation of Section 35B (1) of the Banking Regulation Act. “The RBI does not have jurisdiction to grant ex facto approval. Therefore, my request is independent from ICICI, as the distinction between a public and private bank is blurred due to the funds it handles,” he said.
The court, however, noted that the RBI in its wisdom had given its approval.
“What about my reputation? I almost worked for 30 years at the bank,” he said representing Kochchar.
“You decided to go out on your own but now you are saying that they are firing you. The bank is not firing you. You decided to go out on your own,” the bank said.
The lawyer argued that his resignation cannot be turned into a dismissal, but the court dismissed the statement.
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