A court in Mumbai has admitted a criminal defamation suit filed by R. Venkataramanan, managing trustee of Tata Trusts, against Cyrus Mistry (former chairman of Tata Sons), his elder brother, Shapoor Mistry, chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, and their companies—Sterling Investments and Cyrus Investments.
Venkataramanan is seeking an unconditional apology and Rs 500 crore in damages. He claims Cyrus Mistry made false statements against him, which caused irreparable damage to his reputation.
The Mistry brothers and directors of two Mistry firms were summoned by the court. The next hearing is scheduled for August 24.
They have an option to move the High Court against the complaint.
Mistry was sacked as the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $100 billion Tata Group, in October last year. After the incident, Mistry had sent an email to the Tata Sons board, which Venkataraman claimed contained certain defamatory statements.
Mistry had raised governance issues at Tata Group and even questioned the role of directors of Tata Trusts in the email, which was leaked to the media just a day after he was sacked.
The Mistry brothers, through the two investment companies, hold around 18 per cent stake in Tata Sons.
Venkataramanan has filed the defamation suit in his personal capacity.
