Wipro, a leading Indian IT company, has filed a complaint against one of its former senior executives, Mohd Haque, alleging a violation of a non-compete clause in his employment contract. According to the complaint, Haque joined Wipro’s direct competitor, Cognizant, earlier this year. The complaint asserts that Haque, who resigned from Wipro in June, had agreed to certain post-employment restrictions, including a 12-month prohibition on working for specific Wipro competitors, including Cognizant.
Cognizant, a US-headquartered company, competes directly with Wipro in the digital healthcare services sector, where Haque worked for several years during his tenure at Wipro. Haque initially joined Wipro in 2010 as the Vice President (VP) of Enterprise Application Services based in Bengaluru.
Wipro’s complaint alleges that Haque began violating his non-competition covenants by working for Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation around August 1, 2023. The complaint further contends that Haque intentionally concealed his upcoming employment with Cognizant to gain an unfair advantage upon joining the competitor. Wipro claims that Haque, before his resignation became effective, surreptitiously uploaded multiple files containing confidential information to his personal Gmail account. The IT company asserts that Haque also misrepresented his intentions to Wipro, stating untruthfully that he had no plans to work at Cognizant.
Wipro’s legal team reportedly sent a letter to Haque on September 29, 2023, reminding him of his contractual obligations and the potential consequences for breaches. The company is seeking a jury trial in the matter.
Additionally, the complaint highlights that upon Haque’s promotion to the role of Wipro’s Senior Vice President (SVP) and localization as a US employee, he became eligible to receive over $1 million in equity awards over multiple years. According to the agreement, Haque agreed to be liable to pay Wipro the value of American depositary shares (ADSs) or public sector undertakings (PSUs), as applicable. The computation would be based on multiplying the total number of ADSs or PSUs awarded by the share price on the date of the specific award.
Wipro also alleges that Haque has failed to repay the company for the remuneration he received during the last 12 months of his employment and has not reimbursed the value of the ADS and PSU awards.
In summary, the legal dispute involves accusations of Haque breaching non-compete agreements, misusing confidential information, and failing to meet financial obligations specified in his employment contract with Wipro. The outcome of the legal proceedings will likely determine the resolution of these allegations.
