Business · India Bureau
Coforge NRC chief resigns amid boardroom rift, governance row
D K Singh, the non-executive independent director and Nomination and Remuneration Committee chair at IT services firm Coforge, has stepped down citing differences and tension between board members. His resignation follows an internal audit that flagged governance lapses in how he and former Chairman O P Bhatt handled a board evaluation exercise.
LSN India ·
Singh's departure marks the second major boardroom exit at Coforge in recent days, underscoring deepening corporate governance tensions at the mid-sized IT services company. In his resignation, Singh alleged fundamental differences and friction between independent and executive directors, though Coforge dismissed his claims as "unfounded" and "an afterthought."
The company attributed Singh's exit to findings from an internal audit review that revealed governance lapses in how Singh and former Chairman O P Bhatt managed the board evaluation process. According to the audit, the two withheld critical board evaluation reports from other directors, including the lowest rating assigned to the Chairman's category—a significant transparency breach that triggered formal scrutiny.
Bhatt, the former State Bank of India chairman, had already stepped down as Coforge's Chairman following the audit's revelations about the evaluation report suppression. His position had become untenable after he failed to secure the required 75 per cent special resolution threshold at the company's Annual General Meeting on August 24 for his reappointment as independent director, signalling shareholder disapproval amid the governance controversy.
The successive departures of two senior independent directors underscore mounting pressure within Coforge's boardroom over governance standards and inter-director relations, raising questions about leadership stability at the company and the effectiveness of its oversight mechanisms.