A Mumbai court has issued summons to key Tata Group officials, including Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan N Tata, in a criminal defamation case filed by industrialist Nusli Wadia.

The court has also summoned Tata Sons’ directors including Ajay Piramal, Amit Chandra, Ishaat Hussain, Nitin Nohria, Ranendra Sen, Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan, Ralf Speth, N Chandrasekharan and FN Subedar in the case.

The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 38th Court, Ballard Pier, Mumbai, had issued the orders in an open court on December 15.

In December 2016, Wadia had filed a criminal complaint against Ratan Tata, then Tata Sons’ Interim Chairman, and its directors.

“The removal of Mr Nusli Wadia as independent director of Tata Companies...All due processes were followed in relation to his removal. Tata Sons had, in exercise of its statutory rights, validly issued a ‘Special Notice’ seeking his removal. While Mr Wadia has alleged that the contents of the Special Notice were defamatory, the matter is currently sub-judice and Tata Sons strongly denies such allegations,” Tata Sons said in an email reply.

Abad Ponda, who appeared for Wadia, said the named persons had made several defamatory statements against Wadia after the removal of Cyrus Mistry as the Chairman of Tata Group.

Tata Sons had also accused Wadia of acting without bona fides and putting the future of Tata Steel and its employees in grave jeopoardy.

The next date of the hearing has been fixed for March 25, 2019.

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