Indian IT major Wipro‘s case against its former chief financial officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal has been referred to arbitration, to be heard outside court proceedings as per an order by Bengaluru civil court’s additional city civil and sessions judge Doddegowda K.
On January 3, the judge directed both parties, Wipro and Dalal, to resolve the case under section 8 of the Arbitration Conciliation Act, 1996. The official order will be uploaded in the next week.

In a lawsuit filed on November 28, Wipro claimed damages of Rs 25.15 crore along with an annual interest payout at the rate of 18% per annual from September 29, from Dalal for violating the non-compete clause in his employment contract.
Dalal had submitted a counter application invoking his rights under the employment contract asking to refer the matter to arbitration.

Arbitration refers to a process whereby disputed parties agree to resolve their differences through an impartial third party, known as an arbitrator, instead of going to court. Wipro and Dalal’s advocates presented their arguments to the court on November 28 itself.

Both the parties will now arbitrate, and the rules mandate that the arbitral tribunal must award the result within one year of the arbitration. This can also be further extended after approval.

As part of the non-compete clause in the employment agreement signed by Dalal as part his appointment at Wipro, Dalal was refrained from joining any other rival company for a period of 12 months from the date of his resignation.After a stint of 21 years at Wipro, Dalal resigned as the CFO in September and served his last day until November 30, following which he joined global Cognizant on December 1. Wipro considers Cognizant as one of its competitors.

“As per the Agreements, the Defendant is liable to recompense the Plaintiff the total number of RSU granted multiplied by the share price prevailing on the date of the award OR the calculated sum equivalent to the gross remuneration earned by the Defendant during the last 12 (twelve) months of service (as applicable),” according to the contents of the lawsuit filed.

It added, “However, without prejudice and in good faith the Plaintiff has restricted its claim, which is calculated as INR 25,15,52,875/- (Rupees Twenty Five Crores Fifteen Lakhs Fifty Two Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-five) along with interest calculated at 18% (eighteen per cent) per annum until the date of payment.”

In the above case, Wipro is the Plaintiff while Dalal is the Defendant. Restricted stock unit (RSU) is the shares awarded to an employee, in this case, Dalal.

There is also a restraint on Dalal from disclosing confidential information, soliciting customers or employees in any manner.

Wipro has also raised questions on Dalal’s undertaking on joining Cognizant stating that Dalal continues to be “bound by his obligations under the agreements and any statement of the defendant alluding to the contrary is false and misleading”.

“As a result the defendant has caused Cognizant to submit materially false and misleading statements in its SEC filing. The defendant’s actions and conduct shows blatant disregard to his contractual and fiduciary obligation,” the papers showed.

At Cognizant, Dalal would be taking home around $5.2 million as annual compensation and $300,000 as a sign-on bonus.

At Wipro, Dalal’s salary dropped by 26 per cent from Rs 12.07 crore ($1.5 million) in the 2021-22 financial year to Rs 8.92 crore ($1 million) in the 2022-23 financial year.

At the US-headquartered IT giant, Dalal will be reporting to the company’s CEO, Ravi Kumar S, who joined in January 2023 from Infosys. Since then, Kumar has likely hired at least 20 executive vice presidents and four senior vice presidents, largely from Wipro and Infosys.

Recently, Wipro also filed a complaint in the US court against its former senior executive Mohd Haque, who in August has allegedly joined Cognizant, a direct competitor of Wipro, leading to violation of a non-compete clause in his employment contract. Haque quit Wipro in June this year after a nearly 13-year stint at the fourth largest Indian IT firm.

The complaint against Haque also presses serious charges where Wipro has alleged that Haque was in possession of confidential information whereby he uploaded and emailed “seven files” containing confidential information from his personal Gmail account on or about June 20, 2023, that was flagged off by its IT team on June 22.

Indian IT major Wipro‘s case against its former chief financial officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal has been referred to arbitration, to be heard outside court proceedings as per an order by Bengaluru civil court’s additional city civil and sessions judge Doddegowda K.
On January 3, the judge directed both parties, Wipro and Dalal, to resolve the case under section 8 of the Arbitration Conciliation Act, 1996. The official order will be uploaded in the next week.

In a lawsuit filed on November 28, Wipro claimed damages of Rs 25.15 crore along with an annual interest payout at the rate of 18% per annual from September 29, from Dalal for violating the non-compete clause in his employment contract.
Dalal had submitted a counter application invoking his rights under the employment contract asking to refer the matter to arbitration.

Arbitration refers to a process whereby disputed parties agree to resolve their differences through an impartial third party, known as an arbitrator, instead of going to court. Wipro and Dalal’s advocates presented their arguments to the court on November 28 itself.

Both the parties will now arbitrate, and the rules mandate that the arbitral tribunal must award the result within one year of the arbitration. This can also be further extended after approval.

As part of the non-compete clause in the employment agreement signed by Dalal as part his appointment at Wipro, Dalal was refrained from joining any other rival company for a period of 12 months from the date of his resignation.After a stint of 21 years at Wipro, Dalal resigned as the CFO in September and served his last day until November 30, following which he joined global Cognizant on December 1. Wipro considers Cognizant as one of its competitors.

“As per the Agreements, the Defendant is liable to recompense the Plaintiff the total number of RSU granted multiplied by the share price prevailing on the date of the award OR the calculated sum equivalent to the gross remuneration earned by the Defendant during the last 12 (twelve) months of service (as applicable),” according to the contents of the lawsuit filed.

It added, “However, without prejudice and in good faith the Plaintiff has restricted its claim, which is calculated as INR 25,15,52,875/- (Rupees Twenty Five Crores Fifteen Lakhs Fifty Two Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-five) along with interest calculated at 18% (eighteen per cent) per annum until the date of payment.”

In the above case, Wipro is the Plaintiff while Dalal is the Defendant. Restricted stock unit (RSU) is the shares awarded to an employee, in this case, Dalal.

There is also a restraint on Dalal from disclosing confidential information, soliciting customers or employees in any manner.

Wipro has also raised questions on Dalal’s undertaking on joining Cognizant stating that Dalal continues to be “bound by his obligations under the agreements and any statement of the defendant alluding to the contrary is false and misleading”.

“As a result the defendant has caused Cognizant to submit materially false and misleading statements in its SEC filing. The defendant’s actions and conduct shows blatant disregard to his contractual and fiduciary obligation,” the papers showed.

At Cognizant, Dalal would be taking home around $5.2 million as annual compensation and $300,000 as a sign-on bonus.

At Wipro, Dalal’s salary dropped by 26 per cent from Rs 12.07 crore ($1.5 million) in the 2021-22 financial year to Rs 8.92 crore ($1 million) in the 2022-23 financial year.

At the US-headquartered IT giant, Dalal will be reporting to the company’s CEO, Ravi Kumar S, who joined in January 2023 from Infosys. Since then, Kumar has likely hired at least 20 executive vice presidents and four senior vice presidents, largely from Wipro and Infosys.

Recently, Wipro also filed a complaint in the US court against its former senior executive Mohd Haque, who in August has allegedly joined Cognizant, a direct competitor of Wipro, leading to violation of a non-compete clause in his employment contract. Haque quit Wipro in June this year after a nearly 13-year stint at the fourth largest Indian IT firm.

The complaint against Haque also presses serious charges where Wipro has alleged that Haque was in possession of confidential information whereby he uploaded and emailed “seven files” containing confidential information from his personal Gmail account on or about June 20, 2023, that was flagged off by its IT team on June 22.