Government won't intervene in Tata-Mistry feud

The government will not intervene in the Tata-Mistry boardroom tussle and will keep a hands-off approach on the issue, sources said on Tuesday.
Sources said it was for regulators to decide independently on complaints but as far as the government was concerned it was clear there was no question of any intervention as it viewed the feud as an “internal matter.“

The government's clear message comes a day after the ousted chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry said in a letter to shareholders that the government had an "inherent obligation" to "remedy and repair" the breakdown in the governance of Tata Trusts.

Both sides have met senior government ministers and officials to seek support. Interim Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata had met FM Arun Jaitley last month and sources had told TOI that Tata sought support of state-run financial institutions in the ongoing battle with a set of directors, who support Mistry on several group company boards.

The government's decision to keep a hands-off approach follows its earlier decision not to intervene in the Tata-DoCoMo dispute and let the Enforcement Directorate (ED) determine if the agreement between the two firms was in conformity with the country's foreign exchange laws. The government has also ruled out amending any rules retrospectively.

Tata and Mistry had also met PM Narendra Modi as they discussed changes in the $100 billion conglomerate.