'At this stage of my life, I don't seek to defend my performance': Ratan Tata to court

Tata Sons' chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has informed the Supreme Court (SC) that he is not looking to trade charges with Cyrus Mistry over the past record of the Tata Group, which he added is for everyone to see and determine.

Tata expressed that he doesn't want to get into the debate or prove what he did for Tata Group during his tenure.

In the latest affidavit submitted before the SC on August 3, he said that "if this case is an appraisal of my performance and what I did for Tata Group during my tenure, then it is for others to decide" adding that he would "respectfully withdraw from such a debate", according to a report in Mint. He further stated that "at this stage of my life, I would not seek to defend or seek endorsement of my performance."

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Tata, in the court filing, exclaimed that Mistry, his former protege, was designated chairman of Tata Sons Ltd to lead the group into the future, not to critique the past.

He further underscored in the affidavit, reviewed by the publication, that "questioning decisions of the past by looking at them through the lens of short-term returns and calling them 'value-destroying', Mr Cyrus Mistry forgets that Tata leaders are not known to criticise the past, but do something meaningful for the future."

The Tata Group and Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group are entangled in a long-drawn-out legal battle after Mistry was fired as chairman of Tata Sons in October 2016.

The SP Group, embroiled in the case through its two investment firms, filed a petition in December 2016 alleging repression and mismanagement at Tata Sons.

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The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), had in December 2019, decided in favour of Mistry reinstating him as the executive chairman of Tata Sons and restoring his directorship in the holding company as well as three other group companies. The order, however, was stayed by the SC in January this year.

Mistry, since his sacking, has made several accusations against Tata Sons and Ratan Tata, alleging suppression of minority shareholder rights and the Tata Group's operational mismanagement.

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