Supreme Court Junks Chanda Kocchar's Plea Seeking Reinstatement Of Early Retiral Benefits
ICICI Bank revoked the entitlements after a probe found serious violations of the code of conduct by Kocchar during her tenure.
The Supreme Court junked on Friday an appeal by Chanda Kocchar, former chief executive officer of ICICI Bank Ltd., against an order of the Bombay High Court that declined interim relief in a case pertaining to the revocation of early retirement benefits.
Kochhar moved the top court seeking reinstatement of the benefits after the high court denied interim relief in May to Kocchar in a petition against ICICI Bank, which had revoked the entitlements in 2019. She had contended that the bank went back on its contractual commitments and that it couldn't terminate a person who had already retired.
In May 2018, an investigation was initiated into Kocchar's alleged abuse of position during her tenure as the CEO of ICICI Bank. While the investigation was still pending, she requested a grant of early retirement, which was accepted by the private bank in October of that year.
The investigation concluded in 2019 and found serious violations of the code of conduct for extended periods of time by Kocchar during her tenure. In light of these findings, the bank decided to treat her separation as 'termination for cause', which led to the revocation of all her existing and future entitlements.
In 2016, a news article was published that alleged that Kocchar granted certain loans to Videocon Group companies as a quid pro quo for investments by Venugopal Dhoot or his affiliates in NuPower Renewables Pvt.
NuPower is a company promoted by her husband, Deepak Kochhar.
