No, Narayana Murthy hasn’t called off the battle with Infosys board yet

In a fresh turn of events, NR Narayana Murthy rubbished all reports citing that he has called off the battle with the Infosys Board. The Infosys founder made it clear categorically that he has not dropped allegations regarding the hefty severance payouts to two former employees and governance issues at Infosys Limited.

"No, I have not withdrawn my concern. They (issues & concerns) have to be addressed properly by the Board and full transparency should be given and people responsible for it should become accountable. The positive tweet by one of the directors is encouraging. They are all good intentioned people of high integrity but obviously being human even good people sometimes make mistakes This is one such case. But good leaderships demands that they listen to all concerned shareholders, re-evaluate their decision and take corrective action. I hope they take corrective action soon and improve governance for a better future for the company,” Murthy told ET.

He also said that it is true that the board has collective responsibility for all actions but "we must remember that there is a special committee to look after senior management compensation and severance pay and hence, it is the responsibility of RNC to do a thorough analysis and for the Chair of that Committee to brief the board. It is the responsibility of the Chair of the board to review the decision of the RNC, and advise it if he or she sees any lacunae. If not, the Chair of the board must ensure that the Chair of RNC makes a presentation and that there is a discussion after that. Therefore, the primary responsibility for this lack of fiduciary responsibility lies only with the Chair of the RNC and the Chair of the board. They must accept responsibility and atone for it."

"First is for the Chair of the RNC and the Chair of the board to accept their mistakes and show contrition. Second is to follow the good practices of pre-2014 Infosys and improve up on them. Third is for the board to consult from time to time experts,” he further told ET.

Earlier, some agencies reported that Murthy said the Infosys board is made up of 'decent people; however, large payments can be confusing and need to be sorted out.