Coforge Shares Plunge 8.67%, Chairman O.P. Bhatt Resigns Amid Board Evaluation Concerns

New Delhi: Shares of IT services company Coforge plunged 8.67 percent during early trading on Wednesday after chairman and non-executive independent director O.P. Bhatt resigned with immediate effect.

The stock fell Rs 169 to touch an intraday low of Rs 1,780.10 on the BSE by 9:50 am, as investors reacted to concerns linked to the company’s board evaluation process.

Internal audit flags concerns

Coforge said in an exchange filing that an internal audit conducted under its Q2 FY26 audit plan had reviewed the process followed for the board evaluation exercise.

The exercise was conducted under Bhatt’s guidance, and the resulting Board Evaluation Report was subsequently presented to the company’s board.

According to Coforge, the review raised concerns over how the report was handled and presented. Certain material information contained in or related to the report, including details concerning the chairman’s performance, was allegedly not fully disclosed to the board.

Following the findings, the board formally communicated its concerns to Bhatt and sought an explanation from him.

The company said Bhatt submitted his response. However, the board was still examining the explanation and had not reached a final decision on the issues raised when he resigned.

Bhatt cites disagreement

In his resignation email, Bhatt maintained that he had acted in good faith throughout the board evaluation process.

He said continuing as chairman while there was disagreement over his actions would not support the board’s effective functioning.

Bhatt also confirmed that the concerns surrounding the evaluation process were the material reasons behind his departure and that there were no other material reasons.

Following his resignation, Bhatt has also ceased to be a member of all Coforge board committees on which he served.

Interim chairman appointed

Coforge has appointed non-executive independent director Vivek Sharma as interim chairman until January 31, 2027.

Bhatt also serves as an independent director at pharmaceutical company Wockhardt Ltd. He is a member of its audit, stakeholders’ relationship and capital-raising committees, according to available company information. His resignation is currently limited to Coforge.