NEW DELHI: In a huge win for Tata Sons, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the ouster of former Tata Sons executive chairman Cyrus Mistry was legal, setting aside a 2019 National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order that directed his reinstatement. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice S A Bobde said, “There was no oppression of the minority shareholder (Mistry). There was no mismanagement by Tata Sons.”The apex court, however, added it was open for Tata and Mistry to work out their terms of separation.
The court answered all the legal questions arising out of this dispute in favour of Tata Sons bringing an end to one of the biggest corporate battles in recent times. “If someone, aggrieved after his removal from office can engage in shadow-boxing through the companies controlled by him, he cannot accuse the very same person who chose him as successor to be a shadow director. Someone who gained entry through the very same door, cannot condemn it when asked to exit,” the 282-page judgment read.
Welcoming the verdict, Ratan Tata said the order validated the values and ethics that had always guided the Tata Group. “It is not an issue of winning or losing. After relentless attacks on my integrity and the ethical conduct of the group, the judgment upholding Tata Sons is a validation or the values and ethics that have always been the guiding principles of the group. It reinforces the fairness and justice displayed by our judiciary,” he said in a statement.
The ruling came on a plea that challenged the December 18, 2019 NCLAT order which reinstated Shapoorji Pallonji Group scion Cyrus Mistry as the executive chairman of Tata Sons. The Tata-Mistry dispute began when Mistry, who succeeded Ratan Tata in 2012, was ousted four years later.