Mumbai, Sept. 18 -- By quitting India Gate basmati rice maker KRBL Ltd's board on 8 September over governance issues, Anil Kumar Chaudhary joined a rare group-only the 22nd independent director in six years to voice disagreements with management while resigning from a listed firm.

That rarity becomes clearer when set against the larger picture: In the same period, more than 3,100 independent directors exited the boards of more than 1,500 listed firms for reasons other than superannuation, retirement, demise, or completion of term, according to data shared by market intelligence firm Prime Database.







To be sure, most outgoing independent directors-though sometimes resigning over governance concerns or management disputes-offer inade...