Visa fraud claims of Satya Dev Tripuraneni also unfounded: Infosys

BANGALORE: Harassment claims by a second whistleblower too are unfounded, Infosys chief executive S. D. Shibulal said on Tuesday.

On Monday, a US court dismissed harassment charges filed by Jack Palmer, a US employee. Palmer had alleged he was retaliated against by the company after pointing out what he said was the misuse of US B1 visas.

In the second, similar, case Satya Dev Tripuraneni, an American ex-employee, has said he was harassed by his supervisor after he accused Infosys of visa fraud, according to a lawsuit filed on Augist 2 in the federal court for the Northern District of California.

US District Judge Myron H Thompson found no basis to support any of the charges filed by Palmer under Alabama state law and dismissed the case entirely. While the Judge said the threats against Mr Palmer were "worrisome", he concluded that Palmer has no right to recover from Infosys" under current Alabama law.

The verdict will come as a big shot in the arm for Infosys, which is also facing a Grand Jury investigation in the US over alleged misuse of B1 visas.

While the case was supposed to go for trial on August 20th, the US Judge postponed this to resolve pending summary motion and few other cases. The final decision to dismiss the case was taken based on Infosys motion for a summary judgement filed in April this year, where it said there was no need for a trial.

Infosys shares rose as much as 3.7 per cent to a six-week high, and were up 2.3 per cent at 0955 GMT.