Bengaluru: A Bengaluru city civil court on Wednesday asked Wipro Ltd and its former chief financial officer Jatin Dalal to resolve the issue of alleged violation of non-compete clause in the latter’s employment contract before arbitration.
Wipro announced Dalal’s resignation on 21 September, with 30 November being his last working day with the Bengaluru-based software company. A week later, Cognizant announced that Dalal would start as the company’s CFO.
But even before Dalal could complete his term with Wipro, the country’s fourth-largest IT services company filed a complaint in the city court in Bengaluru, alleging that Dalal had not adhere to the employment contract that restricted him from working with Wipro’s rivals for a period of up to one year.
Arbitration is a legal dispute resolution process in which an impartial third party settles the dispute between the aggrieved parties, without having to go to court.
Wipro’s complaint also sought an order restraining its former CFO and anyone under him from using or sharing company-sensitive information to a third party.
Wipro, citing the alleged contract breach, has sought ₹25.1 crore in damages from Dalal, who earned ₹8.9 crore in the year ended March 2023.
Wipro has not shared the reason behind Dalal’s exit. But chief executive Delaporte told Mint in an interview on 21 September that the former CFO wanted to “progress” and “do something different”. Nonetheless, Mint learned that Dalal’s departure was in the works since the beginning of last year, as he was unhappy with the CEO’s leadership style.
Dalal, 49, joined Wipro in 2002 and took over as the CFO in 2015, and continued in the position until he decided to move out last year.
Dalal is among the 22 top-tier executives ranked senior vice president (SVP) and above to have moved out of Wipro since Delaporte took over as chief executive officer in July 2020.
Wipro is represented by Lomesh Kiran Nidumuri, head-disputes (south India) at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, while Dalal has appointed Karan Joseph, partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, to defend him.
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Published: 03 Jan 2024, 10:57 PM IST