Allegations of sexual harrassment has once again resurfaced against Phaneesh Murthy, ousted chief executive of iGate Corp. The new allegation has been made by Araceli Roiz, Investor Relations Manager with iGate – a 31-year old American lady Murthy accepted he had a relationship with. Murthy, however, has denied the harassment charge. “In his role as her supervisor, Mr. Murthy, as he had with his previous victims, insinuated himself into her personal life using the pretext of business necessity,” the legal firm representing Roiz has alleged. Mr. Murthy was able to “induce the woman into behaviour and action that she would have found unthinkable at the beginning of her employment,” the firm claims. However, iGate, a company based in the United States, said it found no merit in the complaint of sexual harassment made by the employee. Rreferring to iGate’s statement absolving Murthy of the charge of sexual harassment, the law firm said legally “the employer is liable for the conduct of its CEO,” and that “we hope… iGate will take appropriate responsibility in this matter.” In 2002, Murthy, then a rising star at Infosys and one of founder N.R. Narayana Murthy’s favourite co-workers, had to quit the company after being charged with a sexual harassment lawsuit by an American employee. Infosys reached a $3-million out-of-court settlement in 2003.
