The National Company Law Tribunal on Monday said ousted Tata chairperson Cyrus Mistry had failed to convince the court that his petition against Tata Sons Ltd was maintainable, ANI reported. The plea was filed on December 20 by two investment firms – Cyrus Investments and Sterling Investment Corp – controlled by Mistry’s family. Tata Sons was accused of bad practices, oppression and mismanagement in the complaint.
According to the Companies Act, to file an oppression and mismanagement complaint, the petitioner is required to hold 10% shareholding in the company. Mistry’s two firms together own 18.4% equity stake in Tata Sons, but they have less than 3% stake when only preference shares are taken into account, reported Mint. The tribunal has posted the matter for hearing on Tuesday, when it will decide on whether to waive this rule.
On February 6, shareholders of Tata Sons had voted to remove Mistry from the post of director. Mistry had stepped down from all Tata Group companies on December 19, alleging that Ratan Tata had staged “an illegal coup” the day he was sacked from his post.
The holding company had accused Mistry of misleading the 2011 selection committee set up to appoint Ratan Tata’s successor. On January 12, Natarajan Chandrasekaran was named the new chairperson of Tata Sons.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!