Tata vs Mistry: A timeline
3 min read . Updated: 24 Oct 2017, 08:26 AM IST
PremiumThe sequence of events that have unfolded in the 12 months since Cyrus Mistry's ouster as Tata Sons chairman
2016
24 October: Tata Sons removes Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of the group holding company, appoints Ratan Tata as interim chairman, and disbands the group executive council.
25 October: Mistry, in a letter to the Tata Sons board, warns of an $18 billion write-down and alleges ‘shadow control’ by Tata trustees.
5 November: Tata group’s listed companies start announcing extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) to remove Mistry as chairman.
10 November: Tata Sons replaces Mistry as chairman of Tata Consultancy Services with Ishaat Hussain as interim chairman.
14 November: Independent directors at Tata Motors refuse to take sides, saying the automaker’s board was collectively responsible for all decisions relating to strategy and operations.
16 December: Nusli Wadia, Wadia group chairman who was removed as an independent director from the boards of Tata Motors and Tata Steel, files a defamation suit against Tata Sons and Ratan Tata, calling the allegations leveled against him libelous and defamatory.
19 December: Mistry resigns as director from all Tata group companies.
20 December: Mistry family firms file a case against Tata Sons at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), alleging oppression of minority shareholders and mismanagement.
27 December: Wadia writes to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) alleging violation of insider trading norms at Tata Sons.
2017
11 January: Mistry firms file contempt plea in NCLT, stating that Mistry’s removal from the board violates a 22 December 2016 order by the tribunal which said that no party would initiate any action or proceedings over the subject matter pending disposal of the company petition.
12 January: Tata Sons names N. Chandrasekaran, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, as its chairman.
18 January: NCLT dismisses Mistry firms’ contempt plea.
23 January: Sebi’s board rules that operating group companies sharing information with chairman emeritus (Ratan Tata) does not amount to insider trading.
24 January: Mistry firms seek a waiver from NCLT on 10% shareholding threshold for filing the case alleging oppression and mismanagement.
6 February: Mistry removed as director of Tata Sons.
21 February: Chandrasekaran takes charge as chairman of Tata Sons.
28 February: Tata Sons settles legal dispute with NTT DoCoMo Inc.
6 March: NCLT rules Mistry firms’ plea is not maintainable under the Companies Act.
14 March: Ankur Verma, managing director of Merrill Lynch, joins Chandrasekaran’s core team for deals, the first of a series of investment banker hires.
17 April: NCLT dismisses Mistry firms’ request for waiver of shareholding threshold requirement and main petition alleging oppression and mismanagement against Tata Sons.
21 April: Mistry firms move the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against NCLT order on maintainability.
22 May: Saurabh Agrawal, head of corporate strategy at the Aditya Birla Group, joins Tata Sons as group chief financial officer.
5 July: A Mumbai court admits Rs500 crore defamation suit by R. Venkataramanan, a trustee at Tata Trusts, against Mistry.
4 August: Sebi rules that there are no governance lapses at Tata group firms.
23 August: Banmali Agrawala joins Tata Sons as president of aerospace, infrastructure and defence sectors.
29 August: Tata Sons sends out an EGM notice to pass resolutions enabling it to become a private company and give voting rights to preferential shareholders.
20 September: Tata Steel announces merger of Tata Steel Europe with Thyssenkrupp AG.
21 September: Board of Tata Sons approves the proposal to turn the firm into a private company.
Mistry firms win waiver from shareholding threshold limit from NCLAT.
6 October: NCLT refuses to transfer Mistry’s plea from the Mumbai bench to the Delhi bench of the tribunal.
13 October: Tata Teleservices announces merger of consumer mobile business with Bharti Airtel.
