NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court of India, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has upheld the termination of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, confirming the 2019 decision that stripped her of retirement benefits and stock options. The panel's ruling, which was made public today, supports the previous High Court judgment that denied the restoration of Kochhar's retirement perks or Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).
Chanda Kochhar, who had previously been lauded for her leadership and awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, faced a setback when ICICI Bank conducted an internal investigation. The probe revealed conflicts of interest in her dealings with Videocon Group, which allegedly benefited her husband, Deepak Kochhar. As a result of these findings, the bank took the significant step of converting her voluntary resignation into a dismissal. Consequently, all bonuses and stock options that she had accumulated from April 2009 to March 2018 were annulled.
Harish Salve, representing Kochhar in court, could not overturn the asset freeze imposed on her or validate her claim to 6,90,000 shares that were part of her compensation as CEO. This decision reinforces the bank's stance on upholding its code of conduct and ethical standards by taking stringent actions against breaches of conflict of interest policies.
The Supreme Court's endorsement effectively puts an end to Kochhar's legal battle to reclaim her assets and benefits from ICICI Bank, one of India's leading private sector banks.
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