Poor Cibil score costs TN man bank job; Madras HC upholds decision

CHENNAI: Asserting that a person with poor or no financial discipline cannot be trusted with public money, Madras high court confirmed State Bank of India's decision cancelling the appointment of a circle-based officer (CBO) due to a poor Cibil score.

"...the bank took a prudent decision that candidates with a history of default in repayment of loans and adverse Cibil reports were ineligible. The probable rationale behind the criteria may be that in the banking business employees deal with public money and, therefore, financial discipline needs to be strictly maintained," Justice N Mala said.

Further, there must be efficiency in handling public money and, obviously, a person with poor or no financial discipline cannot be trusted with public money, she added.

The court's observations came while dismissing a plea moved by P Karthikeyan challenging the SBI order dated April 9, 2021 cancelling his appointment as CBO.

According to the petitioner, on the date of notification of the recruitment, he did not have dues or an adverse report in repayment of loans/credit card as he had cleared all loans. He was not declared a defaulter by the Cibil report, or by any other agency, and therefore the order cancelling his appointment as a defaulter was illegal and liable to be set aside, his counsel said.

Opposing the plea, SBI submitted that one stipulated eligibility criteria was that candidates with records of default in repayment of loans, adverse reports by Cibil or other external agencies were not eligible for appointment. Since the petitioner gave a false declaration, his appointment was cancelled, SBI counsel C Mohan said. The petitioner's Cibil report revealed an adverse credit history in repayment of loans and credit card usage, and therefore the petitioner was found ineligible under Clause 1(E) of the eligibility criteria, he added.

Concurring with the submissions, the court dismissed the petition.