How independent are independent directors?

Boardroom battles at Tata group and Infosys have put spotlight on their role and responsibilities

Though there are hundreds of eminent independent directors from various walks of life — bureaucrats, accountants and lawyers — serving on the boards of listed companies, it took a senior businessman and a promoter of a large firm himself to test the limits of the rights and powers of an independent director.

The adversarial position taken by Bombay Dyeing Chairman Nusli Wadia against the Tata group promoters following the sudden removal of then Tata Sons’ chairman Cyrus Mistry and his open campaign for corporate governance, which reached the courts, are unprecedented in the history of independent directors in India.