A day after Tata Sons moved the Supreme Court against the reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry as chairman, Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of the group, also moved the apex court in his personal capacity and sought the setting aside of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order finding him guilty of “prejudicial and oppressive acts”.
“The findings of the appellate tribunal are wrong, erroneous, contrary to the record of the case and require consideration by this court (Supreme Court),” the petition said. The tribunal has “held me guilty without any factual or legal foundation,” said Tata who has been associated with the company for nearly six decades. Tata had personally handpicked Mistry on his retirement in 2012 but four years later unceremoniously sacked him.
“The findings of the appellate tribunal are wrong, erroneous, contrary to the record of the case and require consideration by this court (Supreme Court),” the petition said. “The impugned judgement is also infirm because it blatantly indulges in propagating a selective narrative where relevant facts and record have been glossed over, submissions made by the appellant and other respondents have been ignored and if noticed then are not been dealt with in the impugned judgement,” it added.
The development comes a day after Tata Sons moved the Supreme Court against the NCLAT. The mentioning is to take place on Monday when the Supreme Court reopens after the winter break to obtain a hearing date, in addition to seeking a stay on the tribunal’s order till its appeal is decided in the TCS board meeting on January 9.
Cyrus Mistry was restored as the executive chairman of Tata Sons on December 18 by the NCLAT, after he was sacked from the office at a board meeting in October 2016. NCLAT has held the appointment of N Chandrashekhar as the head of the conglomerate illegal. Following his removal, Ratan Tata, the former chairman Ratan Tata took over the company’s affairs.
Mistry had challenged his ouster from the company in the NCLAT, alleging a case of oppression and mismanagement against Tata Sons, including Ratan Tata as per Section 244 of the Companies Act, 2013.
Declaring the change from Public to Private Company illegal, the bench led by Justice SJ Mukhopadhyay, has also reinstated Tata Sons to its previous position as a Public Company.
The NCLAT had stayed the operation of its order for four weeks to allow Tata to appeal against its order.
In his plea before the NCLAT, Mistry had contended that his axing did not comply with the provisions of the Companies Act 2013. He had further submitted that the company’s conversion into a private company was a fraud on him, oppressive and was legally impermissible.
Mistry belongs to the wealthy Shapoorji Pallonji family that owns a minority stake of 18.4 percent in the Tata conglomerate.