The office of Cyrus Mistry has sent a letter to Tata Global Beverages (TGB) stating that his removal as chairman of the company is illegal.
The company’s Board of Directors on Tuesday appointed Non-Executive Director Harish Bhat as its chairman after seven out of ten directors voted for the ouster of Mistry.
A statement from Mistry’s office had said that there was nothing on the agenda about replacement of the Chairman but a repeat of the illegality that the Board of Directors of Tata Sons Ltd, the holding company for the Tata group did on October 24.
The ex-chairman of the Tata Sons may also move to the Company Law Tribunal soon. Sources said that it was shocking that newly inducted Tata Sons board members backed Mistry’s ouster. They added that the new directors also needed a deep understanding of the entire group.
A majority of the board voted to replace Mistry not because of his performance but considering the long-term interests of the company, said S.Santhanakrishnan, director on the Tata Global Beverages board. “Tata (Sons) has been our parent. It’s got nothing to do with Mistry’s performance but with the fact that there is hostility with the parent and this would impact us in the long-term.”
After the boards of some group firms like Tata Chemicals and Indian Hotels Co. Ltd supported Mistry’s continuance as chairman, Tata Sons called for a shareholder meeting to eject him as a director. It also replaced Mistry as the chairman at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, using its powers under the software services firm’s articles of association.
