 "ICICI Bank-Videocon case: SC notice to Chanda Kochhar, husband on CBI plea")
The Supreme Court on Friday (September 6) issued a notice to Chanda Kochhar, former managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank, and her husband, Deepak Kochhar, regarding a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This petition challenges the Bombay High Court's ruling that declared their arrest "illegal."
A bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar has requested responses to the appeal made by the CBI. Earlier, in February, the Bombay High Court upheld the interim bail granted to the former ICICI Bank chief, Chanda Kochhar, and her businessman husband, Deepak Kochhar.
Upholding the interim bail order, the Bombay High Court bench said that the CBI's arrest of the couple in connection with an alleged loan fraud was "routine, without application of mind, and an abuse of power." The court also described the action as "casual, mechanical, and perfunctory."
What is the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case?
Chanda Kochhar, the former MD-CEO of ICICI Bank, and her husband, Deepak Kochhar, were apprehended by the CBI on December 23, 2022, in relation to the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case.
The CBI initiated a preliminary enquiry in 2017 and registered a First Information Report (FIR) in 2019. According to the CBI, ICICI Bank sanctioned loans amounting to Rs 1,875 crore to companies within the Videocon Group. The CBI alleges that loans totalling Rs 300 crore were approved in 2009 when Chanda Kochhar was in charge of the sanctioning committee.
The CBI has accused Chanda Kochhar of accepting illegal bribes, alleging that the day after the loan was sanctioned, Videocon Group promoter VN Dhoot invested Rs 64 crore into Nupower Renewables (NRL), a company managed by Chanda Kochhar's husband, Deepak Kochhar, as part of a quid pro quo arrangement.
The Kochhars were granted bail in January 2023.