Class action lawsuit against Cognizant

Cognizant, which had a headcount of over 2.44 lakh at the end of June, has a majority of these employees based in India

Cognizant is facing yet another class action lawsuit in the US from a section of investors for issuing "false and misleading statements about its business and operations" between February and September this year.

Law firm Holzer and Holzer LLC — representing the investors — said the information technology firm had made "improper payments to obtain permits and building licences in India".

Cognizant declined comment on the matter.

Cognizant, which had a headcount of over 244,000 at the end of June, has most of these employees based in India.

The company is slated to announce its third-quarter results on Monday.

On September 30, Cognizant said it was conducting an internal investigation into possible violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, following which the stock price tanked, hurting shareholders. Also, Cognizant had announced the resignation of the company’s president, Gordon Coburn.

Holzer & Holzer invited investors to join the class action lawsuit, in case they "purchased Cognizant shares during that time and suffered a loss" on the investment. Holzer & Holzer said the deadline to ask the court to be appointed lead plaintiff is December 5, 2016. Last month, Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP had also announced an investigation on behalf of the Cognizant investors concerning the company's and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP had invited the investors to join its lawsuit, which seeks to "file an action under the federal securities laws to recover damages and seek other relief against Cognizant".