In an unprecedented move, the Centre on Monday removed Sushil Muhnot from the post of Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra with immediate effect.

This action comes four days before Muhnot was to superannuate.

The move has been taken under legal powers vested with the Centre under the Nationalised Banks (Management and Miscellaneous Provisions) Scheme 1970/1980, official sources said.

While there is no official word on the reasons for such an unprecedented action, sources said that political pressure may have prompted the Finance Ministry to remove Muhnot. It is not clear whether the RBI was consulted for such an action, they added. Muhnot is understood to have come under the lens of the Finance Ministry for misuse of powers, although several people in banking circles feel that the alleged violations were mostly over frivolous issues. In the past, the Centre had initially suspended persons holding Chairman and Managing Director posts for any misconduct (including diversion of funds/ appropriation etc) if the CBI had registered a case against them.

Meanwhile, Ravindra Marathe, who was Executive Director at Bank of India, on Monday assumed charge as MD and CEO of Bank of Maharashtra. He was to assume charge on October 1. Marathe takes charge of Bank of Maharashtra at a challenging time. The public sector bank reported a net loss of ₹397 crore in the April-June quarter. In the first quarter of this fiscal, the bank saw a 93 per cent rise in non-performing assets.

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