NCLAT restores Cyrus Mistry as Tata Sons executive chairman after 3 years

In a big win for Cyrus Mistry, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Wednesday ordered the restoration of him as the Executive Chairman of Tata Sons. NCLAT also held the appointment of N Chandra as Executive Chairman illegal. The Tatas have the time to file an appeal against the order in four weeks as the tribunal said, the restoration order will be operational only after four weeks.

The appellate tribunal had reserved its order in July

A two-member NCLAT bench headed by chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya pronounced its judgement over the petitions moved by Mistry and the two investment firms challenging his removal from the group. The appellate tribunal had reserved its order in July this year, after completing its marathon hearing over the issue.

Mistry was ousted from the position in October 2016

Earlier, 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' 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 2012 after Ratan Tata announced his retirement.

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There were also allegations of rampant misconduct on part of Ratan Tata and the company’s board. A special bench of the tribunal had held that the board of directors at Tata Sons was “competent" to remove the executive chairperson of the company. The NCLT bench had also said that Mistry was ousted as chairman because the Tata Sons’ Board and its majority shareholders had “lost confidence in him". 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.

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(With PTI inputs)