Cognizant Settles Non-Compete Case with Wipro for $505,000

10 Jul 2024 , 09:49 AM

On July 9, Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal achieved a settlement with Wipro regarding their non-compete litigation. Dalal has received $505,087 from Cognizant as a settlement of the lawsuit and associated arbitration.

“The settlement’s details are confidential; neither party acknowledged any liability when it was reached. The Teaneck-based company said in a filing that the settlement “resolves all pending disputes between Mr. Dalal and Wipro.”

Additionally, according to Cognizant, the litigation brought by former Wipro senior vice president (SVP) Muhammad Haque has been resolved with Wipro.

“I am happy to have resolved this issue and am appreciative of my experience working with Wipro. According to the statement, Dalal stated, “I’m excited to keep leading Cognizant’s growth agenda while delivering value to our clients, employees, and shareholders.”

Wipro’s chief human resource officer, Saurabh Govil, stated that the company is pleased with the resolution. “We are happy that the matter has been settled to protect our contractual rights. We hope Jatin succeeds in all of his future undertakings,” Govil was said in a statement.

Wipro sued Dalal in November, claiming that he joined rival Cognizant within a year of his final day of employment, in violation of the non-compete clause in his contract. In a countermove, Dalal asked the court to send his application to arbitration.

In a hearing on January 3, the Bengaluru City Civil Court referred it to arbitration.

In response to the events, Wipro stated on January 12 that it is handling its contractual duties in a way that is neither personal nor targeted. The statement was made in reference to the litigation the company has filed against Mohd Haque, its senior vice president, and Jatin Dalal, its former chief financial officer.

Before his non-compete clause expires on August 1, 2023, Haque, the former head of healthcare and medical devices for the Americas, joined rival Cognizant as its SVP and business unit head for life sciences.

According to Wipro’s complaint, its IT staff discovered that Haque had seven files containing sensitive data that were emailed from his personal Gmail account.

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