Comments
Ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry has sought a waiver of a condition that requires his family firms to have at least 10 per cent stake in Tata Sons to be eligible to apply to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The waiver has been sought after Tata Sons alleged that Mistry camp had no locus standi to move NCLT, as Shapoorji Pallonji group owns only 2.17 per cent of the total issued share capital of Tata Sons. Under the Companies Act, a firm or person should hold a minimum 10 per cent share to file such a petition.
While Mistry dismissed the stand taken by Tata Sons , he sought a waiver fearing that NCLT may dismiss his earlier appeal on technicalities. The Mistry camp has sought waiver of section 244 of the Companies Act in a petition filed before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) asking it to use its discretion.
This comes even as Mistry submitted fresh an affidavit with fresh evidence in a bid to prove alleged interference by Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata.
“The company petition proceeds on the basis that it is maintainable under the provisions of Section 244 by reason of the equity shareholding of the petitioners being 18.37 per cent of the respondent no 1 (Tata Sons), which is in excess of 10 per cent of the equity share capital of Tata Sons,” the fresh affidavit said.
On December 20, Tata Sons’ ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry had moved NCLT asking it to protect Tata Sons from “oppression and mismanagement of minority interest”. The suite, which was filed through two Mistry family firms - Cyrus Investments and Sterling Investment Corporation – had stated that Shapoorji Pallonji group owns 18.37 per cent stake in Tata Sons.
The NCLT petition was filed under sections 241, 242 and 244 of Companies Act, alleging oppression and mismanagement by Tata Sons, Tata Trusts and their officers.
In its reply later on January 9, Tata Sons had sought dismissal of the petition with “exemplary costs” as it did not meet the conditions under the Companies Act. Tata Sons had also alleged that Mistry camp had no locus standi to move NCLT, as Shapoorji Pallonji group owns only 2.17 per cent of the total issued share capital of Tata Sons.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.