Tata Sons board removes Cyrus Mistry as Director

Cyrus Mistry’s vestigial presence at Tata Sons formally ended on Monday as the company decided to oust him as a director of the Tata Sons board at an extraordinary general meeting. The board and shareholders unanimously voted to remove Mistry, who didn’t attend the meeting, with requisite majority. A statement from Tata Sons said: "The shareholders of Tata Sons Limited, at the extraordinary general meeting held today, passed, with the requisite majority, a resolution to remove Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry as a Director of Tata Sons Limited."In an interesting development, Mistry's brother-in-law and Ratan Tata's stepbrother Noel Tata voted in favour of Tata Son's resolution to remove Mistry.Being a director on Tata Sons board was Mistry's last link to the Tata Group. The development also marks the first time in 50 years that no member of the Mistry family is part of the board.The Mistry family had first got shares in Tata Sons in 1965. Pallonji Mistry, who retired in 2004, was first appointed as a Tata Sons director in 1980. Mistry joined in 2006 as a director and became Tata Sons chairman in 2012. Tata Trusts is the majority shareholder in Tata Sons, with about 66 percent stake, while Shapoorji Pallonji Group holds 18 percent and the remaining by Tata Group companies

Mistry was removed as the Chairman of Tata Sons on October 24 — over differences with group patriarch Ratan Tata — following which a bitter boardroom battle ensued in the Tata Group companies.On January 6, Tata Sons called for an EGM to remove Cyrus Mistry as a Director on the board. Even after resigning from the boards of numerous Tata companies on December 19, Mistry had continued to be on the Board of Tata Sons as Director. Following this, investment companies controlled Mistry, Cyrus Investments and Sterling Investments, filed a contempt petition in NCLT stating that the matter and earlier petition was pending before the Tribunal. The legal counsels of Cyrus Mistry and his investment companies argued that under the consent order passed by the Honourable Court, there was an understanding that no further action would be taken till the court passed its final order.

On Friday, NCLAT rejected Mistry's plea seeking a stay on the EGM. The next hearing is scheduled on February 13 in Mumbai. "We are not going to grant any relief. We are dismissing the three appeals. We would pass a detailed order later," said a bench headed by Justice S J Mukhopadhyay.Despite the latest development, it may not be all over for Mistry as NCLT and NCLAT are yet to pass final judgment. In a related development, the Bombay High Court on Monday adjourned to March 7 hearing on a suit filed by four minority shareholders of three Tata Group companies seeking to restrain the promoters from voting at extraordinary general meetings on a resolution to remove industrialist Nusli Wadia as independent director.

The matter was listed on board but did not reach for hearing. Justice S J Kathawala adjourned it till March 7.  The high court had on December 16 last year directed Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals and Tata Motors to keep one post of independent director vacant until further orders.