Tata companies in a quandary over reappointing Cyrus Mistry as director

‘Procedure for reinstatement is unclear; we are going through the legal process’

Cyrus Mistry

Tata Sons and three of its group companies ie, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Industries Ltd. and Tata Teleservices Ltd. are in a quandry over the re-appointment of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry as director on their boards, to comply with the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

The tribunal, while suspending a part of the judgment relating to the replacement of the present executive chairman and reinstatement of Mr. Mistry as executive chairman for four weeks, said the “rest of the judgment and directions, including the direction to reinstate Mr. Cyrus Mistry as director of the company and directors of three Tata companies shall be complied forthwith.”

This is because Mr. Mistry was removed from the boards of these firms by way of extraordinary general meetings while in the case of other Tata firms, he himself had resigned from their boards.

‘Procedural thing’

“Our legal team and company secretary are working on the order of the NCLAT. It’s a procedural thing. We were not even party to the case,” a senior TCS official told

The Hindu . According to Mr. Mistry’s counsel, Somasekhar Sundaresan, the Tatas ‘should immediately offer a board seat’ to Mr. Mistry in Tata Sons and other companies of the Tata group.

‘Wait for appeal’

A source in the know of the development said these firms would wait for Tata Sons to move the Supreme Court, as Tata Sons is expected to challenge the judgment citing the fact that the decision to remove Mr. Mistry was taken at shareholder meetings constituted in a valid manner.

“The procedure for such reinstatement is unclear and we are going through the legal process,” said a Tata Group official on the condition of anonymity.