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A change of guard is not expected any time soon at Bombay House, the Tata Group’s headquarters, as Cyrus Mistry is not interested in making a comeback despite a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order reinstating him as the group’s executive chairman.
Further, the ousted chairman will not pursue directorship of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) or Tata Industries.
However, he will seek a seat on the Tata Sons board, which the Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) had held for nearly 30 years, Mistry said in a statement issued to the media. This was not a quest for position or power, he added.
On December 18, 2019, the NCLAT had reinstated Mistry as Tata Sons’ Executive Chairman and director of the three companies.
“This legal fight has never been about me. It has always been and will always be about protecting the rights of minority shareholders and upholding their right to demand a higher standard of corporate governance from controlling shareholders,” he said in the statement.
Minority shareholder
“As an 18.37 per cent shareholder, it is in our own interest to ensure the Group’s long-term success. My family, although a minority partner, has been a guardian of the Tata Group for over five decades,” Mistry added.
Stating that the interests of the Tata Group are far more important than that of any individual, Mistry said he will “vigorously pursue” all options to protect minority shareholders’ rights, the highest standards of corporate governance and transparency at Tata Sons.
“In the last three years, both in conduct and in their statements to the world at large, the Tata Group leadership has shown scant respect for the rights of minority shareholders. It is time the Group’s management introspected and reflected on its conduct as it embarks on future actions,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, cases filed by Tata Sons, its Chairman Emeritus Ratan N Tata, Tata Trusts, TCS and TTSL before the Supreme Court, seeking to set aside the NCLAT order, will come up for hearing starting Monday.
Mistry was ousted from Tata Sons in 2016 following a boardroom coup.
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