Wipro has filed a lawsuit against its former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Jatin Dalal, who on December 1 joined the international rival Cognizant.

Dalal has filed an appeal asking the court to assign the issue to arbitration.

Although the suit’s legal foundation is still unknown, both parties have made their claims, and the court will decide whether or not to send the matter to arbitration during a hearing on January 3, according to a media source.

Dalal’s Wipro Service

After more than 21 years serving with Wipro, the fourth-largest IT service provider in India, Dalal had announced his resignation in September. The last day of his term was November 30. The lawsuit against Dalal was submitted to the Wipro headquarters’ civil court in Bengaluru.

Dalal has since filed a motion with the court asking for the case to be sent to arbitration. In order to determine whether arbitration is appropriate, the court will consider the arguments made by each party.

Along with overseeing Cognizant’s global financial planning and analysis, accounting and controllership, tax, treasury, and internal audit, corporate development, investor relations, and enterprise risk management, Dalal will report to Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S.

According to the TOI article, Dalal submitted an application in early December in accordance with Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, which gives the court the ability to order parties to arbitration.

Wipro accuses Cognizant of employee poaching

Top IT companies are embroiled in a poaching spat that has escalated. According to Moneycontrol, Infosys and Wipro have accused Cognizant of engaging in unethical poaching techniques.

Cognizant Technology Solutions reported a net employee addition in the September quarter, defying the trend among “bulk” recruiters. In contrary to rivals like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technology, which reported a loss.

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar, an Infosys veteran himself, has hired over 20 executive vice presidents and four senior vice presidents, many of whom are from Wipro and Infosys.

Wipro has also filed a case against Mohd Haque, a former senior executive, for allegedly breaking a non-compete agreement when he joined Cognizant in August. After working for Wipro for close to 13 years, Haque departed the business in June.

By joining Cognizant before August, the business claimed that Haque had broken the non-compete agreement.
The company further stated that Haque had committed to work with none of Wipro‘s rivals for a full year following the termination of his job.

Serious accusations that Haque possessed sensitive information are made in the complaint against him. Wipro reports that on June 22, 2023, Haque sent and uploaded “seven files” from his personal Gmail account that included sensitive information. Wipro’s IT team discovered these files.

What is Arbitration?

Arbitration proceed proceeds only with the consent of both parties. The parties may choose a single arbitrator jointly in accordance with the WIPO Arbitration Rules. In the event that they decide on a three-person arbitral tribunal, the parties designate one arbitrator each, and they then decide who would preside over the tribunal.

As an alternative, the Center may directly designate arbitrators or offer suggestions for arbitrators with the necessary experience. The Center has a large panel of arbitrators that includes highly skilled practitioners and specialists in all areas of intellectual property law and technology, as well as seasoned generalists with experience in conflict settlement.

In 2018, Infosys filed a lawsuit against Rajiv Bansal, the company’s former CFO. Invoking his right to an arbitral tribunal, Bansal challenged Infosys’ decision to withhold the payment of almost ₹12.2 crore in severance pay that had been guaranteed to him upon his departure in October 2015.