Tribunal limits Chanda Kochhar's access to ICICI Bank's internal data
What's the story
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has partly accepted ICICI Bank's review plea, overturning a part of its earlier order in the case of former MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar. The case pertains to loans given to the Videocon Group. Earlier, SAT had ordered SEBI to give Kochhar access to the bank's Secretarial Portal as well as data stored on its servers and devices relating to the ICICI Bank-Videocon case.
Data access
Tribunal says access to portal may compromise confidentiality
The tribunal has now clarified that the portal and electronic data are not in SEBI's possession or part of any regulatory record.
ICICI Bank had argued it wasn't a party to the original proceedings and was an aggrieved party whose interests were affected by the order.
The tribunal also accepted this argument, saying "any blanket access to the portal may compromise the confidentiality of third-party data."
Legal dispute
Kochhar's counsel challenges ICICI Bank's review application
Kochhar's counsel challenged ICICI Bank's review application, saying the bank wasn't an 'aggrieved person.'
They also argued that the bank's objection to providing access to the Secretarial Portal was untenable as it had granted access to Control Risks India Pvt. Ltd. for its report.
The tribunal was hearing ICICI Bank's review application against its May 2, 2025 order in Kochhar's appeal.
Confidentiality concerns
Bank challenged order granting Kochhar access to internal systems
ICICI Bank had no problem sharing the show-cause notice issued by SEBI, its replies, and accompanying documents filed with the regulator.
However, it had challenged the order granting access to its internal systems on grounds that it was broad and could expose confidential third-party information.
The tribunal noted that Kochhar had first approached it in 2021 seeking various documents but did not seek access to the Secretarial Portal at that stage or during subsequent litigation in 2022.
Data request
Kochhar sought data from secretarial portal in February 2024
Kochhar first sought data from the Secretarial Portal and electronic data stored on the bank's servers and devices through her lawyers in February 2024.
SEBI had told her in March 2025 that portal and electronic data were not "on record" and wouldn't be relied upon in proceedings.
The tribunal also referred to its January 2023 order, rejecting requests for certain interview transcripts, meeting records, correspondence between ICICI Bank and CBI as they weren't on record or part of the report.