The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to decide, on its own merits and within six weeks, a representation alleging that eight directors of the Latur District Central Cooperative Bank (Latur DCCB) had continued in office beyond the permissible 10-year tenure.
The direction was issued in a writ petition filed by Satish Sheshrao Jadhav, an ex-employee of the bank. The petition was heard by a division bench comprising Justice Nitin B. Suryawanshi and Justice Abasaheb D. Shinde. The court disposed of the petition by directing RBI to decide Jadhav’s representation dated May 25, 2026, within six weeks from the receipt of a copy of the order.
Jadhav had approached the RBI alleging that eight of the bank’s 19 directors had continuously held office for more than 10 years and were therefore liable to be disqualified under the amended provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. He also sought cancellation of the bank’s recruitment process and appointment of an administrator.
The petitioner has named eight directors in his complaint, alleging that they had exceeded the 10-year tenure limit.
According to the petitioner’s representation, the eight directors are Maharashtra Cooperative Minister Babasaheb Patil, Ashokrao Patil Nilangekar, Shripatrao Kakade, Ms. Swayamprabha Patil, Vyankatrao Biradar, Pruthviraj Shirsat, Pramod Jadhav and Nagorao R. Patil. The petitioner has alleged that these directors continued in office beyond the prescribed period.
The petitioner’s representation alleged that the eight directors had continued to hold their positions beyond the prescribed period. The petition states that some directors had been continuously associated with the bank since 1987, 2004, 2009 and 2015. Jadhav alleged that despite their tenure having ended, they continued to function as directors and take policy decisions, including initiating recruitment for 375 posts in the bank.
Jadhav had initially approached the Divisional Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Latur, on March 13, 2026, seeking the disqualification of 10 directors whom he alleged had completed 10 years in office. In a subsequent representation dated May 25, 2026, he specifically alleged that eight directors were disqualified.
Jadhav also referred to an earlier matter concerning directors of Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd., Dharasiv, stating that the Kolhapur Circuit Bench of the Bombay High Court had directed RBI to consider a similar representation. According to the petition, RBI subsequently issued a communication dated June 1, 2026, concerning directors who had completed 10 years in office.
The High Court, however, did not determine whether the eight Latur DCCB directors were actually disqualified. Nor did it adjudicate the allegations concerning the recruitment process. Instead, it confined its direction to requiring RBI to consider Jadhav’s May 25 representation on its own merits within six weeks.
The petitioner had also sought an interim direction to keep the recruitment process in abeyance pending the court proceedings and RBI’s decision. This was part of the reliefs sought in the writ petition.
