No merit in Mistry's charges against Tata Sons, Ratan Tata: NCLT

Mumbai: The National Company Law Tribunal, which dismissed Cyrus Mistry's petition against Tata Sons earlier this week, has held that all the allegations made by the former chairman against Ratan Tata, Tata Sons and group companies are devoid of merit.

Instead, during his tenure as chairman of Tata Sons, and a director on the board of Tata Sons, Mistry tried to gain "unbridled control over the group", the tribunal held in its order.

In a 368-page judgement made public yesterday, a special bench of the NCLT, Mumbai has delved deep into the history of the Tata family and its businesses, praising all along, the virtues, and "benevolence" extended by the Tatas to the "society" for decades.

The bench has admitted that it secured such information on the group's origins and the past through "Britannica, and Wikipedia," but considering such history, and merits of the Tata group, it is unlikely that the group could have made prejudiced business decisions solely for personal gains.

"The situation necessitated us in giving the background of the Tatas to get a flavour of the values with which this family cherished and to see whether the Tatas can do something to have personal gains for self enrichment?"

The tribunal also criticised Mistry for levelling charges against Ratan Tata and trustee director N Soonawalla.

Following his ouster as the chairperson of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, Mistry moved the NCLT through his two family-run companies, making allegations of rampant mismanagement and oppression of minority shareholders by Tata Sons.