Can a Public Sector Bank design its own Appointment Rules to Suit a preferred candidate? HC says it needs to know

On Wednesday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court sought responses from the State Bank of India and its Legal Head over a plea challenging the latter’s continued post-retirement contractual appointment. By agreeing to examine the issue after initial doubts over maintainability, the Court has opened scrutiny into allegations of procedural irregularities in high-level public sector appointments.

The case arose from a petition filed by a Haryana resident questioning the continuation of a retired SBI official in a senior legal role beyond the prescribed age limit. The plea alleges that despite retiring as General Manager (Legal), the official was re-engaged on contract and later continued in the position through extensions that allegedly bypassed established norms. It further claims that the appointment process lacked transparency, with conditions allegedly structured to favour a single candidate, while other applications were rejected at the preliminary stage. The petitioner also pointed to non-disclosure of information under the RTI Act and cited government guidelines restricting such re-employment to exceptional circumstances.

While noting the submissions, the Court decided to entertain the plea and directed the concerned parties to respond. While the Bench had earlier questioned the petitioner’s locus, it proceeded after being satisfied with the explanation offered. The Court has not yet expressed any final view on the merits but signalled the need for a closer examination of the process, with directions issued for the filing of replies.

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