"We have sought the intervention of the RBI and Sebi to prevent the disruption of the bank's management and the destabilisation of the United Western Bank. We are a profit-making bank who have been paying dividends uninterrupted for the last 62 years," United Western Bank managing director ST Gadre told The Financial Express.

"The uniqueness of the bank has been that it has been run by professionals who do not have any holdings in the bank and have made it a successful bank," he added.

The bank has alleged that Emtex, and SICOM, having a 9.8 per cent stake in the bank, (the single largest stake holder) and its associates together thwarted its earlier attempt to reward shareholders with a rights-cum-bonus issue. The petition was filed with the company law board, which gave an injunction against the issue. The hearing on the injunction given against the rights-cum-bonus issue of the bank will come up for hearing on November 13, 2000. "It is like SICOM stabbing us in the back," Mr Gadre said. "We have had a strategic association with them so far and we hope wise counsel will prevail at SICOM," Mr Gadre said. SICOM has joined hands with people against whom the bank has served a winding-up notice, Mr Gadre said, referring to the defaults by the Emtex Group. "They are a part of the bank's NPAs," he said. Emtex, SICOM and their associates together have picked up a 25 per cent stake in the market and are seeking control over the management.

The bank believes that the fund-starved SICOM and its associates have prevented the rights-cum-bonus issue, fearing a dilution of its stock.

Nearly 75 per cent of the bank shares are owned by 50,000 shareholders out of which 40,000 are in Maharashtra.

Observers point out that the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled for November 24 will decide in which way the scales tilt in the fight for management control.

Mr PN Joshi, who was chairman of the bank and retired on October 31, was to be made non-executive chairman of the bank. This has not been cleared yet.

However, SICOM general manager JS Pal, while speaking to The Financial Express, said that the bank's management has been blocking SICOM's effort to appoint a director in the bank's board which has been lying vacant for quite some time.

"We hope to succeed in this regard in the forthcoming EGM on November 24," he said.

The names of leading industrialist Dilip Piramal and former Maharashtra chief secretary Sharad Upasani are being proposed by minority shareholders for induction in the bank's board on November 24.