Tata Group has announced the appointment of Ishaat Hussain, 69, as its interim chairman, to replace current chairman and ousted chief of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry. In a release issued to the BSE, TCS said, "Mistry has ceased to be the chairman of board of directors of the company, and Hussain is the new chairman of the company." The company further said that the newly appointed Hussain shall hold office as chairman until a new chairman is appointed in his place.
Later, in a nine-page statement issued to the press, Tata Group accused Mistry of putting the group in doldrums and attempting to wrest control of the firm. Responding as has become a pattern in their battle, Mistry's office said that Tata's letter showed "unsubstantiated claims and half truths without a word of explanation as to why it became necessary to remove him summarily violating natural justice and without explanation." In a sly move, the Tata Sons board ousted Mistry from the board of Tata Sons, announcing it late evening on October 24. On being removed, Mistry had said, "To remove TCS from the data contending that Mistry does not really contribute materially to TCS and to blame him for all problems inherited by him such as Tata Motor's passenger vehicle business in India is inherently fallacious to any unbiased observer." Till date, no reasons have been given, except for vague explanations citing "culture" and "trust deficit".
Meanwhile, the 148 year old conglomerate which owns the trademark Tata, might consider withdrawing its usage rights from group companies that are backing Mistry. Independent directors at two group companies- Indian Hotels and Tata Chemicals- have backed Mistry's continuation as chairman already. "The shareholders will have to decide if these companies should remain part of Tata or not, and if they will be as strong under a Mistry pedigree," one of the Tata Trust members said.
