Hyderabad: The Hyderabad high court has directed the State Bank of India (SBI) not to finalise the options regarding retirement benefits offered to the officers of its associate banks until 15 June.

The SBI had set the deadline of April 13 for the officers of five associate banks (which merged with it on 1 April ) for choosing options regarding provident fund, pension and gratuity benefits, among other issues. The Associate Bank Officers’ Association and some others had moved the court against this directive, saying the time given was very short as the process of integration of the SBI and associate banks was underway and their members won’t be able to take decision before 13 April.

Justice Naveen Rao said in his interim order on 13 April that as “doubts arising out of various clauses of option notification are yet to be cleared", the SBI shall not finalise them till 15 June. The court also asked the SBI and other respondents to file their reply in the meantime.

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The State Bank of Hyderabad, the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, the State Bank of Mysore, the State Bank of Patiala and the State Bank of Travancore merged with the SBI, the country’s largest lender, on 1 April.

Harshavardhan Madabhushi, general secretary of Associate Bank Officers’ Association, said the court’s interim order may also have impact on the voluntary retirement scheme announced by the SBI for the employees of merged entities.

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