Mistry moves National Company Law Tribunal against Tata Sons

A day after resigning from the boards of six listed Tata firms, Cyrus Mistry on Tuesday took the legal route in his fight against the Tatas by filing suit in National Company Law Tribunal against Tata Sons. According to sources, Mistry’s family-controlled investment firms on Tuesday moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai against Tata Sons.

The petition was against oppression and mismanagement of Tata Sons under Section 241 of the Companies Act, the sources added. The first hearing by NCLT on the petition is slated for December 22, they said.

While resigning from the boards of the Tata group firms yesterday, Mistry had launched a scathing broadside against Ratan Tata and vowed to shift his fight to a “larger platform”. “Having deeply reflected on where we are in this movement for cleaning up governance and regaining lost ethical ground, I think it is time to shift gears, up the momentum, and be more incisive in securing the best interests of the Tata Group,” Mistry had said.

He further said that with this thought in mind, he “decided to shift this campaign to a larger platform and also one where rule of law and equity is upheld”.

Mistry, who had continued to be on boards of operating companies even after his ouster as chairman of the holding company Tata Sons on October 24, had again raked up “breakdown of governance” and questionable dealings including release of more funds to airline venture Air Asia under interim chairman Ratan Tata despite “findings of fraud and wrong-doing”.

His resignation came ahead of five Tata companies –Indian Hotels, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Chemicals –calling extraordinary general meetings starting from today to oust him as a director on company boards after Ratan Tata, a scion of the conglomerate’s founding family, replaced him as chairman of the group’s holding company. 

Meanwhile, ousted Cyrus Mistry ruled out chances of a truce with Ratan Tata, claiming his fight is for larger issue of governance and that he will slug it out without giving up his family’s 18.5 per cent holding in the $103-billion conglomerate. “I will fight for that. I have fought for that... We have been there for 50 years, its not one day or two days,” Mistry said a day after he quit from the boards of six listed Tata companies and declared he will take his battle against Tatas to courts. 

Tata Power on Tuesday said that Cyrus Mistry has resigned as director of the company with immediate effect, ahead of the extraordinary general meeting next week for his removal from the board.

“Cyrus Mistry has resigned as Director of the company with immediate effect,” Tata Power said in a BSE filing today, citing a communication sent by him to the company on December 19. 

A day after Cyrus P Mistry's sudden decision to quit from the boards of six Tata group companies, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) shareholders at the EGM on Tuesday expressed concern over his taking the battle to the courts. Following Mistry's decision, there was no voting on removing him as director at the IHCL Extraordinary General Meeting, but shareholders showed concern over the ousted Tata Sons Chairman's intention of taking legal course in the ongoing board room war at the over $100 billion group.