Mistry flags related-party deals at Tatas

MUMBAI: Cyrus Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, has accused the Tata group of relatedparty transactions that he claimed were designed to benefit a select few.

Mistry made the allegations in his affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, where he is fighting a protracted legal battle with India’s largest conglomerate over his ouster in October 2016 from the group’s holding company.

The Tata group and Mistry’s investment firms—cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd and Sterling Investments Pvt. Ltd—have been involved in the litigation since December 2016.

The investment firms, which together own 18.4% of ordinary shares in Tata Sons, had filed a petition alleging oppression and mismanagement. The firms won relief from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on December 18, which said that there was a case of oppression at Tata Sons and reinstated Mistry as the executive chairman of the company. Subsequently,

Tata Sons moved the Supreme Court on January 2. Earlier in June, the top court agreed to hear the Mistry firms on offering additional relief, mainly their scope to nominate a director on the board of Tata Sons by virtue of being the largest shareholder in the holding company. Cyrus Mistry and Tata Sons did not respond to queries emailed on Monday. In the court submission, the Mistry firms also alleged Tata Motors Ltd was forced by the group’s chairman emeritus Ratan Tata to sign a joint venture with Jayem Auto.