Cyrus Mistry on being restored as Tata Sons chairman: Today’s judgment is victory of principles of good governance
Mistry said the tribunal's decision is a victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights.
Mistry was removed as Chairman of Tata Sons in October 2016. (File)
Hours after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) restored him as executive chairman of Tata Sons Wednesday, Cyrus Mistry said this isn’t a personal victory for him and rather a vindication of his stand. He said the tribunal’s decision is a victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights.
“Today’s judgment isn’t a personal victory for me, but is a victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights. The outcome of the appeal is a vindication of my stand,” he said in a statement.
Seeking to bury the past bitterness, Mistry in a statement said that it was now time that “all of us work together for sustainable growth and development of the Tata Group, an institution that we all cherish.”
He added that 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.
“For the Tata Group to prosper as an institution, it is important that the management of individual companies, their Boards, the management of Tata Sons, the Board of Tata Sons and the shareholders of Tata Sons, all work harmoniously within a robust governance framework, that in substance and form, protects the rights of all stakeholders, including shareholders, investors and the Tata Groups employees, who represent the strongest asset of the Group,” Mistry was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
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He further said, “My endeavour 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.”
In a major development in the Tata Sons-Cyrus Mistry case, the NCLAT also held the appointment of N Chandrasekaran as the Executive Chairman of the group as illegal.
The NCLAT, however, stayed the operation of the order with respect to reinstatement for four weeks to allow Tatas to appeal before the Supreme Court, which has appellate jurisdiction over the NCLAT.
The news broke during the fag end of market hours on Wednesday. Shares of key Tata group companies – Tata Motors slipped 3.05 per cent to Rs 174.70 on the BSE, while that of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ended 0.07 per cent higher at Rs 2,167.25 and Tata Steel settled 1.16 per cent higher at Rs 444.60 on Wednesday.
Earlier this year in January, Cyrus Investments – is the investment firm of Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, had contended to the tribunal that Cyrus Mistry was removed as the chairman of Tata Sons against the company’s Articles of Association (AoA).
Cyrus Investments had also urged for the modification in Tata Sons’ AoA, particularly Article 75, which empowers it to ask minority shareholders to transfer their shares.
The SP Group had also earlier requested the NCLAT to order amending Article 121 of the Tata Group’s Articles of Association, alleging that the article was helping Dorabji Tata Trust and Ratan Tata Trust, part of the Tata Trust, to govern the whole Group even as they are the minority shareholders.
Mistry was removed as Chairman of Tata Sons in October 2016. He was the sixth chairman of Tata Sons and had taken over in 2012 after Ratan Tata. He was later also removed as a director on board of Tata Sons.
Mistry, whose family owns 18.4 per cent stake in Tata Sons, had challenged his removal in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
-With inputs from PTI
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