Shares of Coforge declined as much as 9% to Rs 1,780 on the BSE on September 9, after the company announced that Om Prakash Bhatt had resigned from the board with immediate effect on September 8. The development comes against the backdrop of an internal audit that raised concerns over the way the company’s Board Evaluation Exercise was conducted and presented.
The resignation has put the spotlight on Coforge’s corporate governance processes, even as the IT services company has recently delivered strong financial and stock-market performance.
As part of its Q2 FY26 internal audit plan, Coforge’s internal auditor reviewed the process followed for the Board Evaluation Exercise (BER) conducted under Bhatt’s guidance, along with the resulting Board Evaluation Report that he presented to the board.
According to the company, the review identified concerns regarding how the evaluation exercise and the BER were handled and presented. In particular, certain material information relating to the board evaluation and the chairman’s performance was allegedly not fully disclosed to the board when the report was presented.
Following the audit observations, the board communicated its concerns to Bhatt and sought his explanation. Bhatt subsequently submitted his response, which the board had begun evaluating. Importantly, the board had not reached a final decision on the matters raised when Bhatt submitted his resignation.
According to reports, Coforge said Bhatt maintained that he had acted in good faith during the board evaluation process.
In his resignation letter, Bhatt said he had considered the issues raised around the board evaluation process, his response and the circumstances that followed.
He said it was appropriate for him to step down immediately and explained that continuing on the board amid the disagreement could affect its functioning. He also clarified that the matters surrounding the board evaluation process were the reason for his resignation.
Coforge, meanwhile, said Bhatt’s departure came after the internal audit findings and the subsequent process through which the board sought and considered his explanation.
Following Bhatt’s exit, Vivek Sharma, a Non-Executive Independent Director, has been appointed as the interim Chairperson of Coforge. His appointment is scheduled to continue until January 31, 2027.
The leadership transition comes at a time when Coforge has been reporting strong business momentum. The company will now have to navigate the governance-related concerns while maintaining its operational and financial trajectory.
The latest development thus puts two contrasting narratives around Coforge in focus: strong business performance on one side and questions around its board evaluation and governance processes on the other.
