The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) today dismissed pleas of Cyrus Mistry challenging his removal as Tata Sons chairman as also the allegations of rampant misconduct on part of Ratan Tata and the company's Board.
A special bench of the tribunal held that the Board of Directors at Tata Sons was "competent" to remove the executive chairperson of the company.
NCLT bench members B S V Prakash Kumar and V Nallasenapathy said that Mistry was ousted as chairman because the Tata Sons' Board and its majority shareholders had "lost confidence in him".
Reading out the judgement's operative part, the bench said that "he (Mistry) admittedly sent out crucial information related to the Tata firms to the Income Tax department, leaked information to the press, and after he came out in public against the company and its board members".
It further said: "The removal of Cyrus Mistry as executive chairperson was because the board lost confidence and not because they were contemplating that he would cause discomfort to Ratan Tata, Soonawala (N Soonawala, the group trustee), and other answering respondents...
"The Board is competent to remove an executive chairman. Mr Mistry's removal from the position of director came because he admittedly sent out company information to the I-T (department), press, and came out in public against the board and the trust."
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