Infosys Row: Seshasayee, ex-board members slam Narayana Murthy's statements, call it slander

Infosys' former Board members, including ex-chairman Seshasayee have come out strongly against comments made by Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy at a recent investor conference.

"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 been candid and truthful in all my statements regarding Infosys," Seshasayee said in a statement.

Murthy had, on Tuesday, said at an Investec investor conference that the Board, led by Seshasayee, failed to explain the actual reason for the “excessive sum as severance to the ex-CFO, Mr Rajiv Bansal”.

He also quotes liberally from an anonymous whistleblower letter which said that Seshasayee lied about the reason for payments made to the ex-CFO “to protect the company from its secrets being compromised”.

Seshasayee said Murthy quoting from the letter was "offensive",  since the accusations made by the whistleblower were proved to be untrue in investigations, and yet Murthy gave an impression to the shareholders that Seshasayee lied.

He questioned the increasingly personal attacks by Murthy, saying he was "at a loss to understand the motivations for this personal vendetta against me".

Murthy had also raised issues about the conduct of board members John Etchemendy, Jeffrey Lehman and Roopa Kudva in his address on Tuesday.

The Board members reiterated their support for ex-chairman Seshasayee in the joint statement today. Etchemendy said "Sesh is a man of impeccable integrity", adding that he was aware of the Bansal severance issue and went on to categorically state that Seshasayee did not lie about anything related to the issue in public or private.

Lehman questioned why an anonymous complaint to the regulator, which had been investigated and found false, was being legitimized by Murthy as a whistleblower complaint.

"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 other members of a Board who have served with dedication and integrity, who have turned the other cheek when slandered, and who have only acted in the best interests of the company," he said.

Lehman served on the Infosys Board as a director for over 11 years.

Seshasayee, Etchemendy, Lehman and ex CEO resigned from Infosys last Thursday, after a prolonged battle that has included many twists and turns between the founders and Board of the company over the past year. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani stepped in as non-executive chairman of the Board on the same day.