Sebi queries Tata firms on Mistry, Wadia allegations

NEW DELHI: Regulator Sebi has sought detailed explanations from some listed Tata firms on alleged violations of corporate governance and insider trading norms flagged by ousted directors Cyrus Mistry and Nusli Wadia.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought detailed explanations from some listed Tata Group companies on alleged violations of corporate governance and insider-trading norms flagged by ousted directors Cyrus Mistry and Nusli Wadia.

The fresh queries have been raised by the capital market watchdog following receipt of letters from Mistry, who was ousted as chairman of the $100billion conglomerate, as well as from Wadia, who has been removed as independent director from various Tata firms.

The regulator has asked some listed Tata companies to provide specific details and explanation on allegations levelled by Mistry and Wadia, a senior official said.. An ongoing scrutiny is already underway, which was initiated soon after a bitter boardroom battle broke out at the conglomerate following Mistry’s ouster, he added.

However, the ongoing scrutiny, including those of details submitted by various listed Tata Group companies in reply to clarifications sought through stock exchanges, has not shown any serious violation of prescribed listing rules so far, the official said.

Incidentally, last week, Sebi came out with a detailed guidance note for evaluation of board members of listed companies, including independent directors, in order to provide more clarity to stakeholders.

While the regulator did not mention any particular instance or company, it said the guidance note has been prepared to “guide listed entities by elaborating various aspects of board evaluation that may help them to improve the evaluation process, derive the best possible benefit and achieve the objective of the entire process”.