New Delhi:
IT outsourcing company iGate Corp on Tuesday sacked its chief executive
Phaneesh Murthy, one of the biggest names in the IT world, for not disclosing a relationship with a subordinate after investigating him for sexual harassment.
However, Mr Murthy, 49, claims it is not a case of sexual harassment, but one of extortion.
"It was just a personal relationship... If any two people in a company have a relationship, it has to be informed. It's a small note in an employee handbook somewhere... That's what it is," he said. (
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Mr Murthy's termination from the California-based outsourcing firm has re-opened a decade-old scandal.
This is the second time when Mr Murthy has had to leave a company because of allegations of sexual misconduct. He left Infosys in 2002 after a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, but it was settled out of court. (
Read: Why Phaneesh Murthy had to quit Infosys)
The big question now is, are such cases brushed under the carpet in India?
Sexual harassment at the work place is rampant but no one talks about it. According to a survey, officially, just 17 per cent of working women in major cities have admitted to sexual harassment at the workplace. But on the condition of anonymity, 88 per cent of women in IT companies reveal they have faced some form of sexual harassment.
In Bangalore, the software capital of India, over 700 complaints were filed with the Karnataka Labour Department last year. The catch - all of them were unofficial. They came as anonymous emails, letters and complaints without full details of the cases.
It was only in 1997 that sexual harassment at work was recognised in India and guidelines were laid down.
16 years later, India has a law that may not be a deterrent. In 2013, Justice Verma's report recommended changes that were just partially implemented.
The new law brings in its ambit even domestic workers and agriculture labour, both organised and unorganised sectors, but activists say the mechanism of filing complaints is too bureaucratic and could deter women from coming forward.