A bellwether stares at a crossroads

Board now has to reclaim brand ‘Infy’

On a different page: It remains to be seen whether cofounder Mr. Murthy will escalate the matter further

Nandan Nilekani-led Infosys has, sort of, put founder N.R. Narayana Murthy in a spot. Perhaps Mr. Murthy wasn’t expecting this.

By declaring that it found no merit in allegations of wrongdoing in the Panaya acquisition and reaffirming the previous findings of external investigations, Mr. Nilekani and the firm have virtually given a clean chit to former CEO Vishal Sikka and the previous board led by R. Seshasayee. Clearly, Mr. Murthy was disappointed.

Anonymous whistle-blowers had earlier complained that the Panaya acquisition was overvalued. It was alleged that the unusually high severance package to former CFO Rajiv Bansal, who was not in favour of the acquisition, was not disclosed at that time. Mr. Murthy unleashed a no-holds-barred public spat which finally saw the ouster of the Sikka-Seshasayee duo from Infosys.

Will the latest board position allow for the closure of the issue? Should Mr. Murthyaccept the board’s view and allow things to be consigned to history? An angry Mr. Murthy sounded hurt when he said, “Sadly, it appears we will no longer know the truth.” Will he escalate the matter further?

After all, his allegations are serious. Tongues are bound to wag if he doesn’t take this forward. With the board reiterating the earlier findings of external agencies, questions have also been raised on the judgement exercised by Mr. Nilekani and other co-founders in the issue. “Have they simply misjudged the issue?” asked an industry source, who is unwilling to be quoted. Meanwhile, an iconic institution — which stood as a password for India to the world — has suffered collateral damage.

The present board, like the previous one, also chose not to make public the report of the probe. So, what does one make of the Infosys imbroglio? The Nilekani-led board has the unenviable task of reclaiming the brand image of ‘Infy’ and fostering trust in an ecosystem that is turning intensely competitive. How it brings Mr. Murthy on board will be interesting to watch, especially when the firm is looking for a new CEO.