NEW DELHI: Ousted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry on Wednesday termed the NCLAT judgement to reinstate him at the helm of the company as "victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights" and not just his own personal victory.
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."
"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," he added.
"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 said.
Commenting on the verdict of the appellate tribunal, he said, "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."
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 big win for Mistry, the NCLAT on Wednesday restored him as executive chairman of Tata Sons and ruled that the appointment of N Chandrasekaran as the head of the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate was 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.