ICICI had purportedly received a complaint against Kochhar in 2018, after which it constituted an enquiry committee headed by retired judge of the Supreme Court, Justice BN Srikrishna to probe into the allegations.
In June 2018, Kochhar informed ICICI that she would go on leave till the enquiry is completed. By a letter dated October 3, 2018, she sought an early retirement which was accepted by ICICI subject to certain conditions.
In January 2019, the enquiry committee report was submitted which indicted Kochhar. After this, the Board treated the separation as ‘Termination for Cause’.
ICICI also revoked the retirement benefits of Kochhar.
Kochhar approached the High Court after the bank issued her a letter treating her services with the bank as “termination for cause” despite having accepted her earlier retirement.
She sought reinstatement of her Employee Stock Options (ESOPs) under the Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOS).
In the suit filed before High Court, Kochhar sought specific performance of her entitlements and benefits that were unconditionally provided to her when the bank accepted her early retirement in 2018.
Source: Barandbench
