Overview
- The High Court on December 11 set aside the 2009 summons and criminal proceedings against Chanda Kochhar and four ICICI officials for lack of specific averments.
- Proceedings against ICICI Bank remain before the Pune magistrate, with all questions on the institution’s liability kept open.
- The court reiterated that company officers can be prosecuted only when the complaint pleads a concrete, incriminating role, rejecting vicarious liability based solely on designation.
- PMC’s 2009 complaint alleges ICICI brought gold bullion and coins into Pune between 2006 and 2009 without paying octroi and pegs unpaid dues at Rs 1.27 crore.
- The quashing relates to procedural insufficiency rather than merits, and the order identifies the individuals named earlier as Nachiket Mor, Vasudeo Kulkarni, and Asavari Patankar besides Kochhar.