Sexual harassment case against Taj CEO behind Cyrus Mistry's ouster?

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Cyrus Mistry, who was ousted as Chairman of Tata Sons in a surprise move last month, has taken a lot of dramatic turns in the last couple of days.

Alluding to Mistry's replacement by Ratan Tata as Chairman of Tata Sons on October 24 as poor governance, sources said that till date no reasons have been forthcoming on the issue and "just vague statements about culture and trust deficit" have been made.

A report in the Economic Times said, among several factors that might have led to the shock removal of Mistry from Tata Group, one such case which might have added to his woes was a case of sexual harassment.

The ET reported that a female executive had complained of sexual harassment case against Indian Hotels Co. Ltd (IHCL) boss Rakesh Sarna.

Sarna, a former Hayatt executive was handpicked by Mistry to revive IHCL.

But Mistry's ineptness in handling of the case perhaps led to resignation by the woman executive.

“The matter came to Ratan Tata’s attention in June 2016 and he in turn took up the matter with Mistry,” ET said adding that, an “independent probe was initiated only after Tata intervened”.

On July, a probe committee was formed to investigate into the matter, however the panel is yet to submit its report.

While sacking of Mistry from Tata Sons triggered a public spat between him and the conglomerate last month, his family continues to controls an 18.41 per cent stake in Tata Sons.

Even after his removal as Tata Sons Chairman, Mistry continues to be chair of some of the key listed group companies. These include Indian Hotels, Tata Motors and Tata Steel.