Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy has said that he has not withdrawn his objections over corporate governance in the company.

“People responsible should be accountable,” he said replying to a query from BusinessLine . Murthy was referring to the severance pay of ₹17.3 crore, given to former CFO Rajiv Bansal and the abrupt dismissal of David Kennedy, General Counsel.

In a press conference in Mumbai, Chairman R Seshasayee countered it saying that the allegation of ‘hush money’ being paid to Bansal was deeply disturbing. He said that while the amount agreed upon was ₹17.3 crore, Bansal was actually paid ₹5 crore, adding that that India’s second largest software exporter has conducted a thorough probe after it received a whistleblower complaint over the issue and disclosures made.

Former Infosys CFO TV Mohandas Pai pointed out that the disclosures were not made voluntarily. “Infosys has a culture of transparency and these sorts of disclosures were made proactively in the past,” he said.

Murthy also sought the replacement of independent director Jeffrey Lehman as the head of the nomination and remuneration committee.

Seshasayee responded saying that at that time since the average tenure of the Board was 2.1 years, the Board decided to give an extension to Lehman's term in the Board.

However, Pai is not convinced. “There is still no clarity around who negotiated this package, especially considering the fact that in India, no employer gives more than three-month severance package,” he said.

Murthy went on to add that despite people on the Board having good intentions, even good people sometimes make mistakes. “Good leadership demands that they listen to all concerned shareholders, re-evaluate their decisions, and take corrective action. I hope they take corrective action soon and improve governance for a better future for the company,” he said.

Proxy advisory firm InGovern calls this the Infosys Board’s face saving exercise. “They are parroting the old answers but hopefully the Board will change its ways else shareholders stand to lose,” said Shriram Subramanian, Founder and MD, InGovern.

Law firm hired To address these concerns, Infosys has hired Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, a law firm, to take views from across various stakeholders. Seshasayee clarified that the firm was not brought in to mediate but to design the roadmap on governance.

Recently, V Balakrishnan, another former CFO of Infosys, had told BusinessLine that the moment a law firm needs to come in to address concerns of the shareholders clearly indicates that there is no trust between the shareholders and the Board.

“Why can’t the Board admit it made an honest mistake,” says Pai.

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