BENGALURU: Coforge shares ended 5% lower on Wednesday after chairman and director O P Bhatt resigned with immediate effect following concerns raised by an internal audit over the company’s board evaluation process.
The stock fell as much as 8.7% to Rs 1,780.10 on the BSE intraday and was among the losers on the Nifty IT index.
Coforge said its internal auditor, as part of its internal audit plan, reviewed the company’s Board Evaluation Exercise conducted in March and April 2026 and the Board Evaluation Report (BER), prepared under Bhatt’s guidance.
The review identified concerns about how the BER was handled and presented to the board. The company said material information relating to the report, including information concerning the chairman’s performance, had not been fully disclosed to the board when the report was presented.
The board raised its concerns with Bhatt and sought his explanation. Bhatt provided a response, but the board was still considering it and had not reached a final decision when he resigned on September 8.
In his resignation letter, Bhatt said: “I believe that continuing on the Board while there remains a disagreement considering the characteristics of my good faith actions in the Board evaluation process would not be conducive to the effective functioning of the Board.”
Coforge accepted the resignation with immediate effect. Bhatt ceased to be a member of all board committees.
The company appointed Vivek Sharma, a non-executive independent director, as interim chairperson until January 31, 2027.
Coforge also clarified that the issues relate to the regulatory board evaluation exercise and are not connected with its financial statements, financial reporting or financial matters. The company said the matters have no bearing on its operations, business performance or near-, medium- or long-term guidance.
Bhatt, a former chairman of State Bank of India, joined Coforge’s board in 2024 and was due to serve as chairman until April 2027.