Run-up to Mistry’s ouster

Ties with Tata and the Trusts nose-dived after Mistry began to take decisions on group’s legacy issues.

The ouster of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons at a board meet on October 24, caught everyone, including Mr. Mistry himself, by surprise. Two weeks after that fateful day, Mr. Mistry, according to those close to him, has thought through the circumstances that led to his sacking and classified them under three “buckets”.

The relationship between Mr Mistry on the one side, and Mr Ratan Tata and the Trusts on the other, turned difficult in the last 18 months or so when the former began to take uncomfortable decisions on the legacy issues facing the group. According to the source, Mr. Mistry was beginning to push back with Mr Tata on some issues, which the latter may have seen as “hitting back” and resented. .

At an earlier board meeting, Mr. Mistry had circulated a note on corporate governance, seeking to clearly define the role of the Trusts, of Tata Sons, operating companies and the role of the Chairman of the two entities. This might have been seen by the Trusts as an attempt to clip their wings, says the source. Mr. Mistry was of the view that leadership of the Trusts and Tata Sons should be vested in different persons in the interests of checks and balances.

The second “bucket” was the inability of Mr. Tata to let go of control. If the source is to be believed, Mr. Tata, in his capacity as chairman of the Trusts, would suggest alterations to minutes of board meetings of Tata Sons through the nominee directors of the Trusts.

In the last and most interesting “bucket” is the role played by those who had vested interests in the status quo that Mr. Mistry was trying to change. In this context, the source mentioned as an example the proximity that C. Sivasankaran, formerly of Sterling Computers and Aircel, enjoyed with Mr. Tata and the associated privileges.

Mr. Mistry had moved a proposal to file a suit against the former for not paying up his dues of Rs. 600 crore in the DoCoMo arbitration award but the latter got wind of it and sent a notice to Mr. Mistry alleging mismanagement at Tata Sons and Tata Teleservices, according to the source.