Tata Sons wins legal battle; SC refuses to reinstate Cyrus Mistry

The verdict brings the curtains down on a four and a half year-long battle between Cyrus Mistry and Tata Sons. 

Supreme Court has set aside the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal order, which had reinstated Cyrus Mistry as chairperson of Tata Sons.

The verdict brings the curtains down on a four and a half year-long battle between Cyrus Mistry and Tata Sons. 

Dismissing the appeals filed by Mistry and Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the bench comprising Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian left it to Tata Sons and Cyrus Mistry to decide among themselves the issue of shares held by the SP Group.

Cyrus Mistry had succeeded Ratan Tata as Tata Sons chairman in 2012. However, four years later, he was sacked, and that triggered one of the most publicly-fought corporate battles in India.

The SP Group had contended in the Supreme Court that Mistry's removal from the post of chairman of Tata Sons in a board meeting held in October 2016 was in complete violation of principles of corporate governance.

Tata Group countered, stating that the board was well within its rights to remove Mistry from the chairman's post.

With the Supreme Court now ruling Tata's favour, the focus now shifts on how the 18.37 per cent stake in Tata Sons owned by the SP group is settled. Tata Sons has offered to buy the biggest minority stake. But consensus continues to elude the two sides. While Tata Sons assessed the value of the Mistry family stake at Rs 70,000-Rs 80,000 crores, the latter has put it at Rs 1.75 lakh crore.