NR Narayana Murthy's continuous assault, including the latest letter, is the primary reason why Vishal Sikka resigned. The Infosys board currently has no intention of asking Narayana Murthy to play a formal role in the company's governance, Infosys said today, reports PTI.


Infosys Co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan said he was "highly distressed at continuing allegations against Vishal Sikka and board members."

Vishal Sikka, the first non- founder CEO of Infosys, resigned amid heightened acrimony between the board and the high-profile founders led by NR Narayana Murthy, saying he faced "false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks".


The company in a press release today said: "The Board understands and acknowledges Dr. Sikka's reasons for resignation, and regrets his decision. In particular, the Board is profoundly distressed by the unfounded personal attacks on the members of our management team that were made in the anonymous letters and have surfaced in recent months. As the Board has previously stated, a series of careful investigations found no merit to the unsubstantiated and anonymous allegations that had been asserted.  The Board denounces the critics who have amplified and sought to further promote demonstrably false allegations which have harmed employee morale and contributed to the loss of the Company's valued CEO."  Full statement here.


Murthy and others had questioned the high compensation paid to Sikka as also severance package to certain former executives. Also, an anonymous letter was sent to the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, alleging that the Israel-based Panaya acquisition was overvalued and that some Infosys executives may have benefited from the deal.


While an independent probe absolved the board of any wrong doing, Murthy kept the pressure on making the full contents of the investigation report public.


Pravin Rao, currently chief operating officer, will become interim CEO, India's second largest software services exporter said in a statement.