HDFC Bank has zeroed-in on another top finance ministry former bureaucrat as replacement for Atanu Chakraborty, who stirred a hornet’s nest by abruptly resigning as Part-Time (PT) Chairman and Independent Director on March 17, 2026.
The Board of Directors of India’s largest private sector bank on Monday approved the appointment of Rajiv Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS of Jharkhand cadre, as an Additional Director (Independent Director) and as a Part-time Chairman of the Bank, subject to approval of RBI.
HDFC Bank, in an exchange filing, said Kumar, who retired as Finance Secretary in February 2020 and later also served as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner of India, is appointed as an Additional Director (Independent Director) with effect from June 30, 2026 for a period of 4 years.
Further, the appointment of Kumar as a Part-time Chairman of the Bank shall be effective the date as approved by RBI.
Kumar’s appointment will clear the decks for taking a call on re-appointing Sashidhar Jagdishan as MD & CEO of the Bank for a third term.
Chakraborty, a 1985 batch Gujarat-cadre IAS, tendered his resignation as the Part-time Chairman and Independent Director of HDFC Bank, citing “certain happenings and practices within the bank, that I have observed over last two years, are not in congruence with my personal Values and Ethics.” He last served the Government as Economic Affairs Secretary for about a year.
Following Chakraborty’s allegation, the bank appointed external law firms (domestic and international) to conduct a review regarding his resignation letter.
The external law firms have not found any basis for the allegations the former Part-Time Chiarman made in the letter, per late last week’s regulatory filing by HDFC Bank.
The bank said the law firms — Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. and Wadia Ghandy & Co.– reviewed thousands of documents and interviewed Independent Directors and several members of senior management.
“The Bank and the external law firms repeatedly requested that Chakraborty speak with the firms as part of the legal review, but ultimately the interview with Chakraborty did not occur,” the Bank said.
The Reserve Bank of India on March 18, 2026, based on the Bank’s application,, granted its approval for the appointment of Keki Mistry as an interim Part-Time Chairman of the Bank with effect from March 19, 2026, for a period of 3 months.
The bank’s board, at its meeting held on June 18, granted approval for the extension of Mistry’s tenure as an interim Part-time (PT) Chairman for three months until September 18, 2026, or till appointment of a regular Part-time Chairman, whichever is earlier.
Published on June 29, 2026
