In what could be seen as the final chapter of the three months old saga of the bitter boardroom fight between the house of the Tata and Cyrus Mistry, the shareholders of the group holding company, Tata Sons, at its extraordinary general meeting held on Monday removed its former head as a director.
The resolution to remove Mistry was passed with the requisite majority as Tata Trusts hold 66% stake in the holding company with Mistry's family having just over 18%.
"The shareholders of Tata Sons, at the extraordinary general meeting held today, passed, with the requisite majority, a resolution to remove Cyrus P Mistry as a Director of Tata Sons," a statement issued following the extraordinary general meeting of the company was conducted in Mumbai.
Tata Sons ousted Mistry in October 24 as its chairman and appointed Ratan Tata as its interim head.
Mistry, who was subsequently removed from the chairmanship of all other Tata group outfits, continued on the board of the holding company.
An EGM was decided upon to remove him from Tata Sons as well following which he approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The Tribunal on January 31 refused to grant a stay on February 6 meeting and then last Friday quashed a set of petitions filed by Mistry's investment arms against the EGM called by the Tata Group.
But it's not the last we would be hearing about the Tata-Mistry fight.
While the Tatas have won successive battles, the war is still not over as the Tribunal is yet to decide on the charges levied by Mistry alleging mismanagement by the Tatas and oppression of the minority shareholders.
Following the filing of a 344-page petition by Cyrus, the tribunal is set to hear the Tatas later this month.
The development also meant that for the first time in 10 years the Shapoorji Pallonji family, which owns 18.5% stake in Tata Sons, will have no representation on the Board.
Mistry joined the board in 2006, two years after his father Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry stepped down from the directorship. The senior Mistry was on the board of Tata Sons since 1980 although the family has been a stakeholder since 1965.
Tata Sons had abruptly removed Mistry as its chairman on October 24 last year and sought his ouster from operating companies like Tata Motors and TCS. Mistry subsequently resigned from the Board of six companies, but dragged Tata Sons and his interim successor Ratan Tata to NCLT.
After the board meeting of October 24, 2016, Tata Sons had resolved that Mistry shall, notwithstanding his ceasing to be the Chairman, continue as a Director of the company.
But his conduct thereafter in levelling "unsubstantiated" allegations and causing "enormous harm" to the Tata Group had made his continuation as a Director of Tata Sons "untenable" and therefore, he should be removed, Tata Sons had said in a notice seeking an extraordinary general meeting on February 6.
