Disappointed as a minority shareholder: Cyrus Mistry on SC judgement

Cyrus P. Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Sons, said on Tuesday that he is personally disappointed as a minority shareholder of Tata Sons over the outcome of the recent Supreme Court judgement that upheld Tata Sons decision to sack him as the chairman of the salt-to-software conglomerate.

"As a minority shareholder of Tata Sons, I am personally disappointed by the outcome of the judgement with respect to our case," Mistry said in a statement.

"Although I will no longer be able to influence the direction of governance of the Tata group directly, I hope that the issues I have raised will cause deeper reflection and influence the individuals concerned to catalyse change. I sleep with a clear conscience," he said.

According to Mistry, his aim at the Tatas was to ensure a robust board-driven system of decision making and governance that is larger than any one individual.

"A key focus was to enable the directors on various boards to discharge their fiduciary duties without fear or favour, while still ensuring that shareholders' views were reflected in strategy and actions.

"To this end, my performance was reviewed by nearly 50 independent directors across multiple Tata Boards that I served. Beyond the performance metric that speaks for itself and the documented appreciation for my initiatives, I am humbled by the continued support I have received from my former colleagues and other board members," Mistry said.

Last Friday, the Supreme Court had accepted all the contentions of the Tata Group and set aside an order of the NCLAT, which restored Mistry as the executive chairman of the Tata conglomerate.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde had said that all questions of law are in favour of Tata Group while dismissing the appeals filed by Mistry. The top court upheld the Tata Sons decision to sack Mistry on October 24, 2016.

The counsel for the Shapoorji Pallonji Group had argued that Mistry was removed because he was going to place a draft governance structure at the board meeting on October 24, 2016.

"We find all the questions of law are liable to be answered in favour of the appellants (Tata Group) and the appeals filed by the Tata Group are liable to be allowed and Shapoorji Pallonji group is liable to be dismissed," the top court had said.

The top court said the value of SP Group shares will depend on the valuation by Tata Son's equities and the court will not determine the fair value.

In December 2019, the NCLAT had ruled that the proceedings of the Board meeting of Tata Sons held on October 24, 2016, removing Mistry as chairperson was illegal.