On March 26, 2021, then Chief Justice of India and Justices had upheld the removal of Cyrus Mistry from the post of executive chairman of Tata Sons and landed a knockout punch on Shapoorji Pallonji Group by rejecting all its accusations against the company and chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, including the oppressive practices by the board against minority shareholders.
The Supreme Court has now rejected a review petition filed by the SP Group seeking review of the apex court’s March 2021 judgment validating the sacking of Mistry from the post of Tata Sons executive chairman. The review petition claimed that the SC judgment failed to recognise the oppressive practices by the Tata board and Ratan Tata against Mistry, who was the board nominee from the SP Group, holding a minority 18% stake in Tata Sons.
However, the bench agreed to expunge certain caustic remarks allegedly harming the reputation and dignity of Mistry on the undertaking that he would remove certain objectionable statements made in his petition. Branding Mistry and SP Group as poor losers, the SC in a 282-page judgment had shredded arguments of Mistry and team against Tata Sons and Tata and wondered how the National Company Law Tribunal could have deviated from the law to order Mistry’s reinstatement even after expiry of his tenure as executive chairman and direct re-conversion of Tata Sons into a public company.
