Allegations are painful and unsubstantiated: Ratan Tata

Mumbai, December 22

Interim Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata claimed on Friday there was a move afoot to damage his reputation and that the allegations against him were “unsubstantiated and painful”.

"Over the last two months, there has been a definite move to damage my personal reputation and the reputation of this great group — the Tata Group," he said, as the controversy that surrounds the company — which began when embattled former chairman Cyrus Mistry was dismissed on October 24 — appears to take a new turn each day.

"And these days are very lonely because the newspapers are full of attacks, most of them unsubstantiated but nevertheless very painful," he said, after he made a brief intervention at a Tata Chemicals shareholders meeting.

Mistry was dismissed from boards of operating companies such as Tata Chemicals and Tata Motors, but later resigned all his positions before approaching the National Company Law Tribunal against the company.

“The Group has been there for 150 years. It has been based on governance, fair play," he said. "I think the truth will prevail, whatever the process may be, however painful it may be."

"The truth will prevail and the systems in our country will govern," he said.

The extraordinary general meeting of Tata Chemicals was called to consider a resolution by Tata Sons that wants Mistry and his supporter, independent director Nusli Wadia, dismissed from the board of directors.

Since Mistry has already resigned, the shareholders only voted on the one pertaining to Wadia. 

Wadia files defamation charges

Wadia filed a criminal charges against Tata Sons, its interim chairman Ratan Tata and some directors for "defamatory and offending" contents in a special resolution moved to seek his removal from three Tata Group firms.

Wadia, who has been accused of siding with embattled former Tata Group chairman Cyrus P Mistry, filed the defamation suit in the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate.

Tata Sons' special resolution to shareholders seeking Wadia's removal as independent director on board of Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Steel has "caused severe prejudice to the reputation and goodwill", the chairman of Britannia Industries said in the suit.

This, he claimed, also "affected his status as an independent director in various other companies and will continue to have a cascading effect" on his reputation and goodwill in business circles within India and abroad.

He named Anil Naik, Chairman of Larsen & Toubro and Tanya Godrej Dubash, Executive Director of Godrej Group, as witnesses.

Others named as witness include Subhodh Bhargava, independent director of Tata Motors and Tata Steel and Vinesh Jairath, independent director at Tata Motors. — Agencies