On July 23, a lawsuit was filed against him and Infosys, alleging wrongful termination and sexual harassment of a female employee, Reka Maximovitch, at the IT major's US office in Freemont, California.

The incident sent shock waves through corporate India. In the 21 years since its inception, this was probably the first time that Infosys had to face negative publicity.

Murthy, one of the youngest members on the company's board and the IT industry's poster boy, was the highest paid Infosys executive with an annual take-home pay of Rs 20 million ($400,000).