Infosys loses arbitration case against Rajiv Bansal over severance package

Infosys, the country’s second-largest information technology services firm, has lost an arbitration battle against its former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal over his severance package.

The arbitration tribunal has directed the IT firm to pay Bansal the pending amount of Rs 121.70 million with interest. Infosys’s counterclaim for refunding the previously paid severance amount of Rs 52 million has also been rejected. Law experts and corporate governance professionals are of the opinion that Infosys has a limited scope of contesting the award in a higher court, as the company will have to convince the court with fresh reasons for admissibility of the case. Given the merits of the case and the publicity involved in contesting it in an open court, Infosys might not pursue the matter further, they said. “As per the award, Infosys is required to pay Bansal the outstanding severance amount of Rs 121.70 million with interest,” the company said in a regulatory filing. “While the award acknowledges that Infosys had bona fide disputes, its counterclaim for refund of the previously paid severance amount of Rs 52 million and damages has been rejected.”