Kathmandu: Nepal SBI Bank, a subsidiary of
State Bank of India, has been dragged to court over alleged
irregularities in the election of its board of directors last
month.
Former Nepal SBI Bank Chairman Bal Krishna Shrestha has
filed a case against the bank management with the commercial
bench of the Patan Appellate Court on Friday, alleging that
the management was exerting undue pressure on the Nepali staff
of the bank, who are shareholders, and had collected proxy
votes from big borrowers in favour of a certain candidate
during the election.
The court is set to conduct a hearing on the case on
Monday and asked the defendants to be present during the
hearing, Shrestha`s lawyers said.
Shrestha, who served as chairman of Nepal SBI Bank for
seven years, has also lodged a complaint with the SBI
management in India, the Reserve Bank of India and Nepal
Rastra Bank -- the central bank of Nepal -- against the
management of Nepal SBI for allegedly manipulating the
election in favour of another candidate, Manoj Prasad Gupta,
and sought an inquiry.
In the complaint, he has alleged that the Managing
Director of SBI Nepal, N K Chari, and Chief Operating Officer
Madhukar Ananda were unnecessarily interfering in the
shareholders` election, violating the Company Act and the
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of Nepal Rastra Bank
for good governance.
A renowned industrialist, Shrestha is also the executive
member of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries and
chairman of Hama Iron Industries.
State Bank of India has a 55 per cent stake in Nepal SBI
Bank.
PTI
