M A I N   N E W S

Charges against Phaneesh baseless, says iGATE

Bangalore, October 5
iGATE Global Solutions, employers of Mr Phaneesh Murthy, today said they believed the latest allegation of sexual harassment against the former Infosys Executive was “without foundation.’’

“Phaneesh had made us aware of the possibility of this development and we have done our due diligence and believe the allegations to be without foundation. We have complete confidence in Phaneesh,’’ an iGATE statement said here quoting company Chairman Suresh Wadhwani.

Infosys Technologies had disclosed in a statement yesterday that Jeniffer Griffith, a former employee, had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in a court in the US State of California against Mr Phaneesh Murthy and Infosys.

“The lawsuit has not been served on the company and Infosys is still reviewing the complainant’s allegations. Based on its present knowledge of the facts, the lawsuit will not, in the opinion of the management, have a material effect on the results of operations or the financial position of the company,’’ Infosys had said.

The iGATE statement said the lawsuit had not yet been served on Mr Murthy.

“The lawsuit has not yet been served on Mr Murthy. However, it is his opinion and belief that the allegations are baseless and it is the most blatant example of taking advantage of the public news of a prior settlement,’’ iGate said.

Earlier, a case alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination of employment was filed in 2002 against Phaneesh Murthy and Infosys by former US-based employee Reka Maximovitch. Infosys had reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Maximovitch for $ 3 million in May this year.

The previous case was also filed in a court in California.

Phaneesh Murthy had quit Infosys following the allegations by Maximovitch and is now the Chief Executive Officer of iGATE, a business process outsourcing firm. — UNI