Cyrus Mistry whom Tata Sons on Monday removed as its Chairman, nearly four years after he took over the reins of the group.
Cyrus Mistry whom Tata Sons on Monday removed as its Chairman, nearly four years after he took over the reins of the group.

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Shortly after he was removed from his post as chairman of Tata Sons, a “shocked” Cyrus Mistry leveled a series of allegations against interim chairman Ratan Tata and contended that he was pushed into a position of “lame duck chairman” and changes in the decision-making process created “alternate power centers” in Tata Group.

In a confidential email to the board of Tata Sons, he accused them of replacing him as Chairman of India’s largest conglomerate without so much as a word of explanation and without affording him an opportunity of defending himself “in a summary manner” that must be “unique in the annals of corporate history.”

“I was shocked beyond words at the happenings at the board meeting of October 24, 2016. Apart from the invalidity and illegality of the business that was conducted, I have to say that the Board of Directors has not covered itself with glory.”

“To ‘replace’ your Chairman without so much as a word of explanation and without affording him an opportunity of defending himself, in a summary manner, must be unique in the annals of corporate history,” he wrote in the Oct. 25 email.

Mistry said the conglomerate had promised him “free hand” when he was appointed chairman in December, 2012. However, the Articles of Association were modified, changing the rules of engagement between the Tata family trusts and the Board of Tata Sons.

He continued in the email, stating he “inherited” a sleuth of problems and went on to raise corporate governance issues, alleging representatives of family trusts, which hold two-thirds of Tata Sons shares, were reduced to “mere postmen” as they left board meetings midway to “obtain instructions from Mr. Tata.”

Mistry said it was in fact Tata who forced the Group to invest in the aviation sector by making him a ‘fait accompli’ to joining hands with Air Asia and Singapore Airlines and making capital infusion higher than initial commitment.

Defending his record, Mistry said he inherited a debt-laden enterprise “saddled with losses” and went on to single out Indian Hotels Co., passenger-vehicle operations of Tata Motors, European operations of Tata Steel and part of the group’s power unit and its telecommunications subsidiary as “legacy hotspots.”