Cyrus Mistry-Tata Group spat: A timeline of the boardroom battle

Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident on Sunday.

Tata Group's former chairman Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident on September 4. The accident occurred at Charoti in Palghar when his Mercedes was returning from Ahmedabad to Mumbai.

Mistry, who took over Tata Group's chairmanship in 2012 after the retirement of the conglomerate's talismanic chief Ratan Tata amid much fanfare, had a controversy-laden tenure that lasted till 2016. He was removed in a boardroom coup that eventually started a protracted legal tussle, in which India's top court eventually ruled in the Tata Group's favour.

Also Read: Shock, grief as Cyrus Mistry dies in road accident: 'Big loss to the world of commerce and industry,' says PM Modi

Tata Trusts, which owns a 66 percent stake in Tata Sons, is chaired by Ratan Tata. The Mistry family owns an 18.4 percent stake in the company according to a CNBC report.

The legal battle between the two families started when a case was filed by Mistry under various sections of the Companies Act, 2013, before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) where he alleged oppression and mismanagement in Tata Sons. He then accused the airline of financial wrongdoing and corporate governance violations, including at AirAsia India, Tata-owned airline that was founded in partnership with Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd.

Also Read: Under Cyrus Mistry’s watch, Tata Group began to increase focus on the consumer

Mistry highlighted “fraudulent transactions and ethical concerns” at AirAsia India revealed by a forensic investigation, in a letter he wrote to the directors of Tata Sons.

Here is a brief timeline of the famous legal battle between Mistry and the Tata Group, which can be called one of the most talked about corporate feuds of the last decade:

• December 2012: Cyrus Mistry is appointed Chairperson of Tata Sons Limited.
• October 2016: Mistry is sacked from the post by most of the Board of Directors.
• Jan 12, 2017: Tata Sons names N Chandrashekaran as Chairman, the then TCS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.
• Feb 6: Mistry removed as a director on the board of Tata Sons, holding company of Tata group firms.
• February 2017: The shareholders vote for Mistry’s removal from the board of Tata Sons during an extraordinary general meeting. Mistry, subsequently, files a suit under various sections of the Companies Act, 2013, alleging oppression and mismanagement in Tata Sons.
• July 2018: The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) dismisses Mistry’s plea against Tata Sons. While rejecting his allegations, NCLT rules that the Board of Directors are competent enough to remove him as Chairman. The tribunal also states that it found no merit in the arguments on mismanagement in Tata Sons.
• December 2019: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) overturns the NCLT judgment, and states that Mistry’s removal as Chairman of Tata Sons was illegal.
• January 2020: Tata Sons and Ratan Tata challenge the NCLAT decision before the Supreme Court. Subsequently, the Supreme Court stays the NCLAT judgment to reinstate Mistry as the executive chairman of Tata Sons.
• February 2020: Mistry files cross-appeal in the Supreme Court against NCLAT judgment, says his family—Shapoorji Pallonji—deserved more relief from the tribunal.
• September 2020: The Supreme Court restrains Mistry’s Shapoorji Pallonji Group from pledging its shares in Tata Sons to raise funds.
• December 2020: Final hearing commences before the three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by then Chief Justice SA Bobde.
• On March 2021, the Supreme Court ruled its final verdict in the Tata vs Mistry case. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Tata Group and dismissed an appellate court order that allowed Cyrus Mistry to be reinstated as the group Chairman.
• Earlier this year, the Mistry family challenged the Supreme Court's March 2021 verdict in the Tata Sons vs Cyrus Mistry case. However the Supreme Court dismissed the review petition by Cyrus Mistry in the Tata versus Mistry legal case in May.

Also Read: Cyrus Mistry: A reclusive scion who fought for honour after being fired by Tatas

The top court further said, “We leave it to Tata Sons, Mistry to take legal route to resolve issue of shares. Value of Tata Sons shares depends on equity.”

Sources close to the SP Group peg the valuation of their 18.37 percent stake at Rs 1,78,459 crore. This includes the value of the brand as well as the listed and unlisted entities.

The Tata group indicated to the Supreme Court that it was open to buy out the stake held by the Mistry family, the promoters of the SP Group. The proposal has the potential to end the bitter dispute between both sides which has been fought in the courts as well as the public forum for the last four years, Moneycontrol reported.

(With inputs from CNBC-TV18)