ICICI Bank Shares Decline After RBI Defends Its Approval To Sack Kochhar

Shares of ICICI Bank declined on Thursday, a day after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told the Bombay High Court that its decision to grant approval for termination of the appointment of Chanda Kochhar as MD and CEO of the private lender was fair and not arbitrary.

The stock fell as much as 1.30 percent to an intraday low of Rs 533.70 apiece on NSE.

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On Wednesday, RBI filed an affidavit in response to a petition filed by Kochhar last month where she challenged her dismissal from the position of MD and CEO of ICICI Bank after having voluntarily left the firm.

Along with termination, the bank had denied her remuneration and rescinded the bonuses and stock options given to her from April 2009 to March 2018.

Kochhar has been accused of playing a role in granting out-of-turn loans worth Rs 3,250 crore to Videocon Group, which allegedly benefited her husband, Deepak Kochhar.

Chanda Kochhar's lawyers argued that as her termination came months after the bank had already accepted her voluntary resignation on 5 October, 2018, making it illegal.

The RBI in its affidavit said there was no violation of Kochchar's fundamental rights, and its decision to approve the termination of her services was devoid of any "malafides or arbitrariness," according to a PTI report.

It also added that on giving such approvals, the RBI does not sit in judgment over the legality of the action.

"RBI does not get involved in employee-employee disputes," the affidavit said.

"It is not the function of RBI to micromanage the actions of the bank and substitute its commercial wisdom for that of the bank," the affidavit filed by Navin Nambiar, General Manager of RBI's Department of Regulation, said.