R. Venkataramanan, Managing Trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, has filed a criminal defamation case against former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry for '' causing irreparable damage to his reputation".
Venkataramanan has claimed Rs 500 crore in damages, a person aware of the development told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity. He has alleged that certain emails leaked to the media caused irreparable damage to his reputation. The case will come up for hearing on June 29 before an additional chief metropolitan magistrate's court in Mumbai.
Mistry had raised governance concerns, questioning the role of directors nominated by Tata Trusts.
Cyrus Mistry's office issued a statement calling the lawsuit a “poor tactic to muzzle litigation” ahead of the hearing in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on July 3.
“We are not intimidated by these tactics ahead of the NCLAT hearing. These coercive actions only strengthen our resolve to do the right thing in the long-term interest of the Tata Group.”Cyrus Mistry's Office
Two of Mistry's family-run firms had approached the appeals tribunal against the March 6 ruling of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) which said that they did not own the requisite shareholding to bring charges of oppression and mismanagement against Tata Sons. The Mistry firms had argued for a waiver of the eligibility criteria to pursue a case of oppression and mismanagement against Tata Sons. The NCLT, however, denied the waive.
Tata Sons had removed Mistry as chairman in October last year citing loss of trust.
Also Read: Why NCLT Dismissed Mistry's Petitions
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