National Company Law Appellate Tribunal restores Cyrus Mistry as the Executive Chairman of the Tata Group

Mistry had argued his removal was not in accordance with the Companies Act and there was rampant mismanagement of affairs across Tata Sons

Cyrus Mistry gets a big relief as the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has restored Mistry as the Executive Chairman of the Tata Group on Wednesday. NCLAT upheld that the appointment of N Chandrasekaran was illegal.

A window of four weeks has been allowed by the NCLAT on the reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry which means Tata Sons can appeal before the Supreme Court within these four weeks against restoring Mistry as the executive chairman.

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The NCLAT judgment today came on a petition moved by former Tata Group Chairman Cyrus P Mistry and his two investment firms Cyrus Investments and Sterling Investments Corp challenging his removal from the group.

A two-member NCLAT bench headed by Chairperson Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya pronounced judgment over the petitions.

Mistry, who had taken over as the sixth chairman of Tata Sons in 2012 after Ratan Tata announced his retirement, was ousted from the position in October 2016.

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had on July 9 dismissed pleas by the Mistry camp against his removal and allegations of misconduct on part of the board. The bench had also said Mistry was ousted as chairman because the Tata Sons’ Board and its majority shareholders had “lost confidence in him”. Mistry had challenged the order.

Two months after his removal, Mistry’s family-run firms approached the NCLT as minority shareholders, against Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, and some other board members.

Mistry had argued that his removal was not in accordance with the Companies Act and that there was rampant mismanagement of affairs across Tata Sons.