Tata Sons is planning to remove its former chairperson, Cyrus Mistry, from its board. If executed, the move will divest Mistry of all executive and non-executive roles in the holding company’s board, and his family – which holds a 18.4% stake in the conglomerate – will only remain passive investors, The Hindu reported on Tuesday.
The company is looking to formalise Mistry’s removal through a shareholder meeting, which is likely to take place in February after the National Company Law Tribunal, on January 31, hears a petition against it filed by investment firms controlled by Mistry’s family. The plea seeks to protect the family’s interests in Tata Sons against minority shareholders in the holding company.
However, an official spokesperson for Tata Sons said that the board had not made any decision yet to remove Mistry. This came even as the outsted chairperson filed a fresh affidavit with the tribunal with evidence reportedly proving Interim Chairman Ratan Tata’s interference in Tata Group companies during Mistry’s tenure.
According to Mistry, Ratan Tata continued to exert influence and control over the group’s companies through other Tata Sons directors. The former chairperson said that he was eventually managing Ratan Tata’s demands and views on a full-time basis.
Mistry has already been removed from the boards of a number of Tata companies. Tata Sons has also demanded that the former chairman return all confidential data and documents in his possession and not retain any copies of the information either. It has also demanded a written confirmation from Mistry saying he has not shared any “confidential information” regarding the holding company to his family members, relatives or affiliates, as well as to firms controlled by him and his family.
On December 19, Mistry had decided to resign from all Tata Group companies, saying it was time to “be more incisive in securing the best interest of the Tata Group”. He had accused Ratan Tata of staging “an illegal coup” on October 24, the day he was stripped offchairmanship of the company.
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