Kolkata, March 18: The officers in the different circles of the State Bank of India have threatened to take the management to court on charges of "partiality and irregularity" in the process of approval of applications for the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).Sources from the SBI Officer's Association told The Financial Express that officers of the bank's Chennai circle, whose VRS applications have not been approved by the bank, have already filed a suit against the management in the Madras High Court. Similar suits are likely to be filed by the respective officers of the bank's Bengal, Hyderabad and Delhi circles. The officers of the bank's Bengal circle, for now, have in-principal, agreed to provide financial support to their counterparts at Chennai, so that these officers are able to pursue their case in Madras High Court.
The officers' association pointed out that the SBI management, in the VRS notice, mentioned that only officers with special skills and qualifications will not be eligible for the separation scheme benefits.
However, the association has alleged that in reality only applications of those officers who have completed 55 years of age, have been approved. As a result, out of the 19,000 officer applicants, only 9000 applications have been approved by the management.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
