Flaw In The Amber

he strange sacking of Infosys’s Jaipur staffer Rashid Hussain has added to the many questions around the company’s HR practices, till recently under Mohandas Pai. Here’s the story: Hussain, 38, a software engineer, was sacked two months after he was picked up by the police and subsequently released after eight days without any charges, in the aftermath of the May 2008 Jaipur blasts. On March 31, after a two-and-a-half year legal battle, a local court in Jaipur directed Infosys to reinstate Hussain, and pay his salary and perks for the past three years.

Infosys terminated Hussain’s employment after finding a “discrepancy” in the work experience record provided by him. Says Hussain: “Infosys has a thorough verification process...how is it that they woke up to this after I had already worked for the company for three years?” Hussain says he approached the company with the judgement copy on April 9 and was called for a meeting on April 12, where he was told that the decision would be taken from the company’s Bangalore offices. He is yet to hear from the company and feels it may even challenge the ruling in higher courts. Now teaching in a private engineering college in Jaipur, Hussain isn’t sure whether he will eventually join back at Infosys or not, but wants his “record to be cleared”.