In a new development, former Infosys co-chairman R Seshasayee hit out at co-founder N R Narayana Murthy, asking him to stop "personal attacks" against him.
In a statement, Seshasayee further asked Murthy to not make "false and slanderous accusations against" him over alleged corporate governance failures at the IT firm during his term.
"Since my resignation from the board of Infosys, I have kept away from making any public statements, despite provocations, since I sincerely want the company to move forward, and not be bogged down with the issues of the past," Seshasayee said in the statement, adding that Murthy's statement to the investors, however, forces him to issue this statement.
After co-founder Nandan Nilekani returned to Infosys as non-executive chairman, Seshasayee, along with two other board members -- Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy -- stepped down from the company board.
Business Standard reported that Seshasayee independently confirmed that the statement was issued jointly by Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy.
Speaking to investors on Tuesday, Narayana Murthy had said, "In the AGM in July, Seshasayee lies about the reason for payments made to the ex-CFO, claiming it was made in consideration of his long service and to protect the company from its secrets being compromised. In reality, it was paid to protect the secrets of the CEO and the Board."
FULL TEXT of the statement by R Seshasayee , John Etchemendy, and Jeffrey Lehman:
Referring to the recent statements made by Mr Narayana Murthy to the investors and media, Mr R Seshasayee, former Chairman of Infosys said:
"Since my resignation from the Board of Infosys, I have kept away from making any public statements, despite provocations, since I sincerely want the company to move forward, and not be bogged down with the issues of the past. Mr. Murthy's statement to the investors reported by the press, however, forces me to issue this statement, which is done only to defend myself against personal attacks and patently false and slanderous accusations.
Mr. Murthy's statement to the investors misleadingly attributes words to me that are taken completely out of context, making it appear that I was not stating the truth. I wish to categorically state that I have always been candid and truthful in all my statements concerning Infosys. To quote an anonymous whistleblower letter that alleged many things, which have subsequently been proved baseless and false through multiple investigations by highly respected counsel, in order to give an impression to the audience that I lied to the shareholders, is patently offensive..
The words that Mr. Murthy attributes to Jeff Lehman and Roopa Kudva, from their private conversation with him are also egregiously taken out of context.
It is regrettable that Mr. Murthy 's campaign on the alleged governance lapses has continually slipped into personal attacks and slander on individual Board members.
I would also like to point out that Mr. Murthy invited me to join the board and entrusted to me the chair of the Audit Committee, while he was still the chairman. As late as February '17, much after the alleged lapses took place, Mr. Murthy also issued a press statement that I was a man of high integrity. I am therefore at a loss to understand the motivations for this persistent vendetta against me."
John Etchemendy, former Director of Infosys who also resigned recently from the Board, said as follows:
"Sesh is a man of impeccable integrity. Faced with unfair, false, and outrageous attacks , he has consistently responded with scrupulous honesty and forthrightness. He has been an inspiration to his fellow board members and has been the real moral compass of Infosys for the past three years. am fully conversant with the details of the Rajiv Bansal issue and I can categorically state that at no point did Sesh say anything in public or, to the best of my knowledge, in private that was untrue or did not reflect the collective view of the Board."
Jeffrey Lehman, former of Director of Infosys who also resigned recently from the Board said as follows:
"I had the privilege of serving on the Infosys Board for more than eleven years, under several different chairs. During his tenure, Mr. Seshasayee was scrupulously and tirelessly devoted to ensuring that the Board comply with all applicable principles of law and governance. An anonymous, so-called "whistleblower" made outrageous charges against management; the Board engaged several sets of outside counsel and investigators of impeccable reputation, and those investigators determined that every charge was false and without any foundation. For the good of Infosys, I wish Mr. Murthy would stop quoting those lies as if they were reputable. For the good of Infosys, I wish Mr. Murthy would stop defaming Mr. Seshasayee and the other members of a board who have served with dedication and integrity, who have turned the other cheek when slandered, and who have acted only in the best interests of the company."
