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The National Company Law Tribunal did not give any interim relief to Cyrus Mistry in the petition filed by his family-controlled firms against Tata Sons.
The tribunal has asked Mistry to file a rejoinder within seven days to prove his allegations against the Tatas with material facts.
A Division Bench of NCLT, comprising BSV Prasad Kumar (Member-Judicial) and V Nallasenapathy (Member-Technical), decided to hear the petition filed by Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation, on January 31, saying it would not consider granting interim relief now or entertain interim proceedings.
The two investment companies, which own 18.3 per cent stake in Tata Sons, had moved the NCLT under Sections 241 and 242 of the Companies Act to protect Tata Sons from “oppression and mismanagement”.
Time for reply
Since Mistry had not filed a petition directly, the Bench asked Mistry to file a reply within a week. It also directed Tata Sons to file a reply within 15 days after Mistry files his response.
The judicial member heading the Tribunal panel, said: “This case not only concerns the reputation of Tatas but also of the country,” and added, “it is a case involving all of us. It will have international implications.”
Mistry, through the family-owned entities, has urged the NCLT to dissolve the entire board of Tata Sons and appoint a retired Supreme Court judge as non-executive chairman of the board.
The chairman should then appoint independent directors so that they will start taking decisions in the interest of shareholders rather than the promoters, said the petition filed by the two companies.
The petition also urged the Tribunal to restrain Ratan Tata from attending the Tata Sons board meeting as some of the decisions taken under his leadership have to be reviewed and investigated.
Responding to the petition, Tata Sons spokesperson said, “Tata Sons believes that the petition is not maintainable in law and the court will hear Tata Sons on this issue at the outset at the next hearing.”
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