Why did Coforge chairman O P Bhatt resign? What the audit and shareholder vote reveal

Former Coforge chairman O P Bhatt resigned from the company's board on September 8, citing concerns over the board evaluation process and presentation of the Board Evaluation Report (BER). This decision was influenced by Coforge's recent shareholder vote against his reappointment as an independent director, which fell short of the required 75% vote at the company's 34th annual general meeting.

Internal audit findings highlighted that certain material information in the BER, including Bhatt's performance details, had not been fully disclosed to the board. Despite his resignation, Bhatt defended his actions, stating he acted in good faith and believed continuing on the board would not be conducive to effective functioning.

The vote against his reappointment, with 65.47% in favor and 34.53% against, exposed differing opinions among shareholders, with institutional investors supporting him while public shareholders voted overwhelmingly against his continuation.