‘Conscience is Clear’: Cyrus Mistry on SC Verdict Backing Removal

However, Mistry said that as a minority shareholder of Tata Sons, he was “personally disappointed” by the SC order.

Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry. 

(Photo: IANS)

Days after the Supreme Court on 26 March set aside the December 2019 ruling of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that had directed the reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry as Tata Sons chairperson, he reacted saying that he was grateful for the opportunity and that his conscience is clear.

However, he stressed that as a minority shareholder of Tata Sons, he was “personally disappointed by the judgment of the apex court”.

The NCLAT order had ordered the reinstatement of Mistry as Tata Sons chairman and set aside N Chandrasekaran’s appointment.

The apex court allowed all the appeals filed by Tata Sons against the said NCLAT order. Meanwhile, the appeals by the SP Group and Cyrus Investments were dismissed.

In a statement released on Tuesday, 30 March, Mistry said, “Over the last four years, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my actions and on whether I could have handled the generational change in leadership better.”

He added that in hindsight, he might have had many imperfections, but he did not have any “doubt or erosion of conviction” about the direction he chose, nor about the integrity of his actions and their consequences.

“Every member of society looks to institutions, such as courts, to validate and endorse the appropriateness of his or her actions and beliefs,” he said.

“As a minority shareholder of Tata Sons, I am personally disappointed by the outcome of the judgment with respect to our case. Although I will no longer be able to directly influence the direction of governance of the Tata group, I hope that the issues I have raised will cause deeper reflection and influence individuals concerned to catalyse change.”

Statement from Cyrus Mistry

“I sleep with a clear conscience,” he stressed in the statement.

He also thanked Tata Sons for the opportunity “to work with a fantastic team of people from diverse backgrounds in multiple industries and geographies all bound together by a common value system embedded by the founders into the Tata Group”.

The Tata-Mistry Dispute

Mistry, a scion of the wealthy Shapoorji Pallonji family, was removed as chairperson of Tata Sons in October 2016. He was the sixth chairperson of Tata Sons and had taken over in 2012 after Ratan Tata. He was later also removed as director on the board of Tata Sons.

Mistry and Tata family patriarch Ratan Tata reportedly fell out over key investment decisions, including manufacturing of the world’s cheapest car, the Nano.

What Did Ratan Tata Say on the Verdict?

Reacting to the verdict, Ratan Tata, in a statement on Friday said, “I appreciate and am grateful for the judgment passed by the honourable Supreme Court today. It is not an issue of winning or losing. After relentless attacks on my integrity and the ethical conduct of the group, the judgment upholding all the appeals of Tata Sons is a validation of the values and ethics that have always been the guiding principles of the group.”

“It reinforces the fairness and justice displayed by our judiciary,” he added.