NCLAT judgment victory for principles of good governance, vindication of my stand: Mistry

Cyrus Pallonji Mistry on Wednesday termed the judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to restore him as Executive Chairman of Tata Sons Limited as the victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights.

"Today's judgment is not a personal victory for me, but is a victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights. For over fifty years, the Mistry family, as the significant minority shareholder of Tata Sons, has always endeavoured to play the role of a responsible guardian of an institution that the entire nation is proud of," Mistry said in a statement.

"The outcome of the appeal is a vindication of my stand taken when the then board of Tata Sons, without warning or reason removed me, first as the executive chairman, and subsequently as a director of Tata Sons. My endeavor as Executive Chairman had always been to establish a culture and processes that promote effective board governance to create long term stakeholder value, sustainable profits and growth," it said.

Mistry, who was the sixth chairman of Tata Sons said that it is now time for everyone in the company to work together for sustainable growth and development of the Tata Group.

"For the Tata Group to prosper as an institution, it is important that the management of individual companies, their Boards, the management of Tata Sons, the Board of Tata Sons and the shareholders of Tata Sons, all work harmoniously within a robust governance framework, that in substance and form, protects the rights of all stakeholders, including shareholders, investors and the Tata Groups employees, who represent the strongest asset of the Group," read the statement.

Earlier in the day, the NCLAT restored Cyrus Mistry as the Executive Chairman of the Tata Group and held that the appointment of N Chandrasekaran was illegal.

However, the tribunal said the restoration order will be operational only after four weeks, the time allowed to Tatas to file an appeal.

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had dismissed the petitions filed by the two investment firms Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corp challenging Mistry's removal.

Later, Mistry had also personally approached the NCLAT over the NCLT order.

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

The Mistry camp had challenged the July 9 order of the Mumbai bench of the NCLT which dismissed the pleas against his removal as Tata Sons chairman, as also the allegations of rampant misconduct on part of Ratan Tata and the company's board.

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

Meanwhile, Tata Sons in a statement said that the NCLAT order appears to even go beyond the specific reliefs sought by the Appellant.

"Tata Sons strongly believes in the strength of its case and will take appropriate legal recourse", the group said.