Not looking to trade any charges with Mistry: Tata

MUMBAI: Tata Sons’ chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has told the Supreme Court that he is no longer willing to trade charges with his former protege Cyrus Mistry over the past record of the Tata Group, which he maintained is for everyone to see and judge.

“I say this with all the humility at my command that if this case is an appraisal of my performance and what I did for Tata group during my tenure, then it is for others to decide. I would respectfully bow out of such a debate. At this stage of my life, I would not seek to defend or seek endorsement of my performance,” Tata said in his latest affidavit.

“Questioning decisions of the past by looking at them through the lens of short-term returns and calling them “value destroying”, Mr Cyrus Mistry forgets that Tata leaders are not known to criticise the past, but to do something meaningful for the future,” Tata said in the affidavit, reviewed by Mint. The Tata group and Shapoorji Pallonji group through its two investment firms, are embroiled in a protracted legal battle after Mistry was sacked as chairman of Tata Sons in October 2016.

Mistry investment firms filed a petition in December 2016 alleging oppression and mismanagement at Tata Sons. In December 2019, the NCLAT had ruled in favour of Mistry firms.

Since his sacking, Mistry has made several allegations against Tata Sons and Ratan Tata. He had also alleged that the Tata Sons board meeting, which decided his dismissal did not record the reason for his removal as the chairman.

“He should know that Tata companies follow certain decorum and even most unpleasant decisions are conveyed in a dignified manner because such decisions are never personal. The decision to replace him was no exception; in fact, it demanded all the more care and sensitivity in how it is conveyed and recorded. That is why he was initially requested to step down on his own,” said Ratan Tata.