New Delhi, March 14 -- The high-stakes battle in a US court between two of India's biggest IT services companies-Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp and Infosys Ltd-took a curious turn this week.

New Jersey-headquartered Cognizant labelled "preposterous" Infosys's allegations that the former had hired current chief executive officer (CEO) S. Ravi Kumar to slow down the development of Infosys's healthcare software product (Helix). Kumar, an Infosys veteran, left Infosys in October 2022 and joined Cognizant as CEO in January 2023.

In a filing on 10 March in a Dallas court, Cognizant said Infosys's allegations were absurd and implausible. "It thus defies common sense to suggest that Cognizant's board of directors would select the company's...