Wipro, ex-CFO Dalal, referred to arbitration over an alleged non-compete clause breach. According to a civil court judgment issued on Wednesday in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, Wipro (WIPR.NS) will move to arbitration with its former CFO Jatin Dalal after he joined competitor Cognizant (CTSH.O).
Wipro claimed in November that Dalal’s employment as Cognizant’s CFO breached a non-compete provision that listed ten of Wipro’s competitors and said that he could not work in any capacity with them for 12 months after his departure.
Dalal joined Cognizant on December 1, following his last day at Wipro.
Wipro requested 251.5 million rupees ($3.02 million) in damages plus interest and a permanent injunction barring Dalal from sharing company-sensitive information with Cognizant.
Dalal’s contract with Cognizant is structured similarly to his deal with Wipro. In response, Dalal stated in November that non-compete provisions were unlawful because they violated Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act.
He requested arbitration because the agreements he signed provided for this mode of dispute settlement.
This is Wipro’s second such suit against former top executives. Wipro filed a case in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey last month against Mohd Haque, the company’s former healthcare and medical devices sector leader, who subsequently joined Cognizant. Wipro, Cognizant, and Dalal did not reply promptly to requests for comment.