Coforge Shares Plunge Over 8% After Chairman O.P. Bhatt Resigns Amid Board Evaluation Concerns

Shares of IT services provider Coforge tumbled more than 8 per cent on Wednesday in early trade after chairman and non-executive independent director O.P. Bhatt resigned with immediate effect following concerns identified in an internal audit review of the board evaluation process. The IT stock declined as much as 8.67 per cent or Rs 169 per share to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,780.10 by 9:50 am on the BSE. In an exchange filing, the company said the board had noted Bhatt's resignation and that he had also ceased to be a member of its committees.

Bhatt said in his resignation email that he had acted in good faith and that continuing on the board while there remained a disagreement over his actions in the board evaluation process would not be conducive to its effective functioning. "The matters referred to above are the material reasons for my resignation, and I confirm that there are no other material reasons for my resignation," Bhatt said in the email which disclosed by the IT firm.

The internal audit conducted as part of the Q2 FY26 audit plan reviewed the process followed for the board evaluation exercise under the guidance of the chairman and the resulting Board Evaluation Report presented to the board, says Coforge. The review identified concerns over the manner in which the report had been dealt with and presented including that certain material information contained in or relating to the report and the chairman's performance had not been fully disclosed to the board when it was presented.

The board subsequently set out its concerns and sought an explanation from Bhatt. The company said Bhatt had responded but the board was still considering his explanation and had not taken any final decision on the matters raised. However, the board has designated Vivek Sharma, a non-executive independent director as interim chairman until January 31, 2027. In addition, Bhatt is also an independent director of Wockhardt Ltd where he is a member of the audit, stakeholders' relationship and capital raising committees, according to the company.

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