Mumbai Sessions Court Gives Relief To Cyrus Mistry In Rs500 Crore Defamation Case.

A Mumbai sessions court quashed and set aside summons issued by a magistrate’s court to
ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry and others in connection with a Rs 500 crore
defamation complaint filed by Tata Trusts' R Venkatramanan.
Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, had filed a plea with the sessions court that there
had been procedural lapses at the lower court.
The court ruled that there had been lapses in recording a statement by Venkatramanan and sent
the case back to the Mumbai magistrates court to hear it afresh. Mumbai magistrates court on 4
July admitted a Rs 500 crore defamation suit against Mistry and his family firms Cyrus
Investments Pvt. Ltd and Sterling Investments Pvt. Ltd.
In the case, Venkatraman had said that allegations that Mistry made against him in an email he
wrote to Tata Sons directors and Tata Trusts trustees on 25 October, 2016 were defamatory and
caused “irreparable” damage to his reputation among colleagues, family, friends and society.
Mistry wrote the email after he was removed as chairman of the group holding company.
Venkatramanan, managing trustee of Tata Trusts, had filed the criminal defamation complaint
against Mistry and others for making “false” statements and sought a compensation of Rs 500
crore.
The issue is now being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.