It's not just Infosys, many of India Inc's boardroom battles have been a virtual Game of Thrones
The Infosys saga once again puts the spotlight on how boardroom battles in Corporate India can be ugly and intense.
The dust is yet to settle on the boardroom battle in Infosys that shook India Inc last week.
While reports of a rift between Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka and founder N R Narayana Murthy were doing the rounds since the last few months, Sikka's resignation from the post brought the boardroom battle out in the open.
The resignation of Vishal Sikka, who had the backing of the board, also exposed the deepening divide between the founders and the Board of the country's second largest IT services firm.
The reverberations of the Infosys boardroom battle will be heard for a long time across the Corporate India even as the company has started searching for a new CEO.
As the Infosys boardroom battle continues to make news, take a look at some other big corporate battles that erupted in the past but are still being discussed today.
Removal of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Group
In a sudden turn of events last October, the Tata Sons board sacked Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Group, the country's largest conglomerate. A public spat followed between Mistry and Ratan Tata. Mistry's family firm Shapoorji Pallonji Group holds 18.4 per cent shares in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.
The Board selected TCS veteran Natarajan Chandrasekaran as the chairman of Tata Sons. Announcing his appointment in January this year, the Tata Sons board in a statement said, "Mr Chandrasekaran has demonstrated exemplary leadership as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services".
The spat between Vijay Mallya and United Spirits Board
Diageo-controlled United Spirits Limited (USL) asked chairman Vijay Mallya to step down in April 2015 after a probe report revealed alleged financial irregularities on part of Mallya, including diverting funds to Kingfisher Airlines.
The USL Board said that it had lost its confidence in Mallya. The latter refused to resign and called the probe report "flawed". After a long battle, Vijay Mallya stepped down as non-executive chairman of USL in February 2016, but not before Diageo agreed to drop the charges of irregularities against him, and pay him 75 million USD for five years.
Ajit Kerkar removed as chairman of Taj Group of Hotels
Ajit Kerkar, who was hailed as the czar of the Taj Group of Hotels, was ousted as the chairman and managing director by the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) board, which controls the Taj hotels.
Simultaneously, Ratan Tata took over as the chairman of the Taj Group of Hotels in 1997. Kerkar was accused of lacking in fiduciary responsibility, good governance and transparency. He was accused of diverting IHCL funds to companies like Cox & Kings, which were under direct charge of his family. The intense boardroom battle ultimately ended with Kerkar's exit.
The unceremonious exit of Sunil Alagh from Britannia Industries
Sunil Alagh, who was the CEO and managing director of Britannia Industries, was charged with alleged financial irregularities in his personal expenses. He was sacked by the board, chaired by Nusli Wadia, in June 2003.
Alagh, who had joined Britannia in 1974, was expected to leave the company a year later, but his messy exit from the company was attributed by some to the board hardening its stand.
The company in its statement to stock exchanges said that Alagh as "a Managing Director had conducted himself in a manner clearly incompatible and inconsistent with the duties and responsibilities he owed... (and) had breached the trust and confidence... reposed in him by the chairman and board of directors".
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