Court that put Cyrus Mistry back in Bombay House has often had its rulings changed

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal that ordered the surprise reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons, has seen most of its high-profile decisions this year modified by the Supreme Court.
Six of the eight big cases decided in 2019 by the NCLAT have been reversed or modified by the top court, a larger proportion than previous years. This has decided the fate of several companies such as tycoon Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd. and big-ticket insolvencies including that of Essar Steel India Ltd. Tata Sons, in a statement following the unfavorable NCLAT verdict, said it “strongly believes in the strength of its case and will take appropriate legal recourse.”



Mistry can now expect a seat on the Tata Sons board and has taken steps to be heard in any possible litigation against him, people familiar with the matter told ET in a report. “If Tata Sons holds a board meeting tomorrow, they are duty-bound to call Mistry as a director. And whether he chooses to attend or not is a call that Mistry will take,” said a top lawyer familiar with Mistry’s plans.

Anticipating litigation by the Ratan Tata camp, Mistry and his family-owned investment firms have filed a caveat petition in the Supreme Court to get a chance to be heard. “If Ratan Tata, Tata Sons or any entity controlled by him wishes to approach the Supreme Court to seek any relief against Mistry, they will have to give 48 hours advance notice to them to ensure the caveator is heard before any order is passed,” said Chandubhai Mehta, managing partner at law firm Dhruve Liladhar & Co.

“Cyrus waged a legal battle for the principle of the thing — that an individual cannot be bigger than the institution. The fight has never been for the top seat — Cyrus has never clamoured for chairmanship. We are just glad that the subject of oppression of minority shareholders has been given a voice,” said a person close to Mistry.