New Delhi: In a significant development in one of India’s biggest boardroom battles, The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has reinstated Cyrus Mistry as the Chairman of Tata Group. This comes after a bitter battle between Tata Sons and Mistry that started in 2016 and later ended at the NCLAT. The Tribunal also held that the appointment of N Chandrasekaran as the Executive Chairman as illegal. Cyrus Mistry, who took over as the sixth chairman of Tata Sons in 2012, was removed by the company’s board in a surprise move and Ratan Tata had been appointed as the chairman.
Nataraj Chandrasekaran was appointed as the chairman of Tata Sons in February 2017.
The two-member NCLAT Bench headed by Justice S J Mukhopadhaya gave its judgment based on the petitions filed by Cyrus Mistry and two investment firms challenging the removal. The Tribunal also gave four weeks time to Tata Group to implement its order.
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had dismissed the petitions filed by firms associated with Mistry, the Cyrus Investments and Sterling Investments Corp, challenging his removal from the Chairmanship of the Tata Sons.
The Mistry family headed by Pallonji Mistry holds 18.5 per cent stake in the company.
In August 2018, Mistry had accused Tata Sons of mismanagement and scuffling of minority shareholders’ rights.
Tata Group, India’s largest salt to software conglomerate has a significant role in the nation’s economic growth.
Reacting on the outcome of the NCLAT verdict, Cyrus Mistry said in an email statement “Today’s judgment is not a personal victory for me, but is a victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights. For over 50 years, the Mistry family, as the significant minority shareholder of Tata Sons, has always endeavoured to play the role of a responsible guardian of an institution that the entire nation is proud of.”
Further, the statement reads, “The outcome of the appeal is a vindication of my stand taken when the then board of Tata Sons, without warning or reason removed me, first as the executive chairman, and subsequently as a director of Tata Sons. My endeavor as Executive Chairman had always been to establish a culture and processes that promote effective board governance to create long term stakeholder value, sustainable profits and growth.”
“I believe it is now time that all of us work together for sustainable growth and development of the Tata Group, an institution that we all cherish.”
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