Cognizant settles lawsuits against CFO and other execs filed by Wipro, pays $505,000 for settlement; read HR head’s statement

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal has settled the non-compete lawsuit filed by Wipro. Cognizant paid $505,087 to Dalal to resolve the dispute, without any admission of liability. The terms of the settlement remain confidential. Additionally, former Wipro Senior Vice President Mohammad Haque’s lawsuit has also been settled with Wipro .
In November, Wipro filed a lawsuit against Dalal, alleging that he violated the non-compete clause by joining rival Cognizant within 12 months of leaving Wipro. Dalal requested arbitration, and the matter was referred to the Bengaluru City Civil Court.
Haque, who previously led healthcare and medical devices for the Americas at Wipro, joined Cognizant as its Senior Vice President and business unit head for life sciences before the end of his non-compete clause tenure . Wipro’s complaint alleged that Haque had confidential files sent from his personal Gmail account.
Wipro clarified that their actions were not personal or targeted, referring to lawsuits against both Dalal and senior vice-president Mohd Haque.

What CFO Dalal and Wipro HR head said

Commenting on the settlement, Dalal said, “I am grateful for my journey with Wipro and I am pleased to have this matter behind me. I’m looking forward to continuing to drive Cognizant’s growth agenda while delivering value to our clients, employees, and shareholders.”
Saurabh Govil, Chief Human Resource Officer, Wipro, said that the company is happy to have settled the matter. “We are glad this issue has been resolved safeguarding our contractual rights. We wish Jatin well in his future endeavors,” Govil said.
In its press release, Cognizant said that the terms of the settlement, which was reached without any admission of liability by either party, are confidential. It also mentioned that the settlement resolves all pending disputes between Dalal and Wipro. “The settlement was reached without admission of liability by either party. The company’s payment covers Dalal’s settlement payment to Wipro as well as reimbursement of his legal fees,” Cognizant said in a filing with the SEC on July 9.