The case has wider ramifications for all the top level appointments in the PSU insurance sector made by the BBB, whose power to select directors of the PSU general insurers has already been disapproved by the Delhi High Court
New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court on Monday has once again adjourned the ongoing hearing of a plea by Inderjeet Singh, general manger, New India Assurance(NIA) on the issue of appointment of Satyajit Tripathy (who is currently CMD, United India Insurance (UII)) by the government on the basis of recommendation of the Banks Board Bureau(BBB), to May 2.
Justice V Kameswar Rao, who had originally admitted the case filed by Singh in November,2021, has postponed the hearing of the case to May 02.The case has already been adjourned twice in the last three months.
Singh has challenged government act of appointing Tripathy who was originally chosen as a reserve candidate for the post of CMD of Chennai based UII by the BBB, in the Delhi HC.
Singh had initially filed two pleas before the Delhi HC: BBB had selected him as the main candidate for the UII top post and the government should have appointed him as the UII CMD and the second, how Tripathy who was selected as a reserved candidate by the BBB can be appointed as the UII chief.
However, after being pointed out by the court that BBB’s power to select directors in the PSU general insurance industry has already been disallowed by the same court, Singh had withdrawn his first plea and only pursuing the second plea in the Delhi HC.
Delhi HC had already served notices to the Government of India and Tripathy on the matter.
The case has wider ramifications, even retrospectively, for all the top level appointments in the PSU insurance sector made by the BBB, whose power to select directors of PSU general insurers has already been disapproved by the Delhi High Court.
BBB which was formed by the government in 2016, as an autonomous body for the top level head hunting jobs- searching and selecting executive directors, MD & CEOs of the PSU banking industry, had also included the PSU insurance industry as part of its functions since 2018.
MR Kumar, chairman, Life Insurance Corporation(LIC), and a few MDs of the corporation were the first lot of selections BBB did for the PSU insurance industry in 2018.
After the Delhi HC’s earlier judgement, cancelling BBB’s power to select directors, the government had asked all the directors(except Tripathy) who were appointed by the government on the basis of selection by the BBB, to quit and continue in their earlier position of general managers.
The government also is yet to unveil any new mode of selecting and recruiting the future chairman and MDs of Life Insurance Corporation, CMDs and directors in the PSU general insurance industry.