‘Bansal pay-off a judgment call, may have been wrong’

Infosys chairman R Seshasayee on Monday sought to allay concerns over former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal's severance pay, but admitted that the "judgment" could have differed if circumstances were different or if certain processes had been in place.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, he said, "At that time, it was a business judgment, there was an application of mind by the board and it was agreed to be paid. In retrospect, I have no hesitation in saying perhaps that judgment would have been different if circumstances were different or if the processes had been there."

Bansal's whose hefty severance package has drawn flak from founders like N R Narayana Murthy. Bansal's severance package - amounting to Rs17.38 crore - equalled 24 months' pay (See: Narayana Murthy still worried about Infosys management).

Seshasayee clarified that out of the agreed Rs17.38 crore, Infosys had paid Bansal only Rs5 crore so far, with the remaining amount being withheld pending clarifications on the terms of the severance contract.

Infosys chief executive officer Vishal Sikka, who also addressed the media, said Bansal's exit was mutually agreed upon as there were "team chemistry issues" with him.

In interview with The Times of India immediately after meeting the media, Sikka described a whistleblower's letter as "a direct, reckless, malicious, slanderous and personal attack on me by diabolical minds. I will not tolerate it. It is unacceptable. If somebody attacks me personally, we will follow whatever legal recourse we have to after that."

The letter alleges that Bansal was paid a massive severance in exchange for his silence on certain accounting practices and an overseas acquisition.

Asked about co-founder N R Narayana Murthy's comment that he would like someone like the US-based finance professor Marti G Subrahmanyam as a co-chair, Seshasayee, who also spoke with TOI, said, "He has conveyed it to the public. It is for us to say whether Marti is the right person or somebody else is the right person. We have to take a decision; we will take the decision in the interest of shareholders at large.

Sikka further said, "I left India barely in my teens, and I came of age in the US. Twenty-eight years later, I was walking into an alien setting when I returned. I was reassured by the integrity and culture of Infosys, and I will not let it down on my watch.

"I have had just 90 minutes of sleep since yesterday," said the embattled Infosys CEO.

Seshasayee added that while the concerns raised about the hefty amount are valid, the allegations of it being "hush money" were "deeply disturbing".

He conceded that there was "subjectivity" in determining the amount of Bansal's severance package.

"It was a judgment. The management made some judgment about this and the board thought the judgement was right," he added.

However, the company reviewed the policy and made changes.

"So, the learning from there was that subjectivity should be taken away and then, we went on for a process change by which we looked at, through a consultant, what is the severance payable for different geographies and for different executive positions," he said.

He emphasised that with "subjectivity" being taken away in severance packages, there will be "no more Rajiv Bansal-like situation" at the company.