TCS shareholders vote to remove Cyrus Mistry as director

Shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday voted on a proposal to remove Cyrus Mistry from its board.

EGM of TCS was held today while the same for other operating companies is scheduled for the next week. Mistry still sits on the boards of several group companies, including Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL).

Mistry, who was yesterday ousted as director from the board of Tata Industries, told shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in a letter that "good governance" has been thrown to the wind in the past several weeks and replaced by "whims, fancies and personal agenda".

"We have witnessed an unmatched erosion of ethical values and the very foundation of the institution being put to grave risk by the conduct of a few," he said. Mistry's statement was read out at the EGM by the company secretary.

In a bitter boardroom coup, Cyrus Mistry was on October 24 abruptly removed as chairman of Tata Sons - the holding company of the USD 103-billion salt- to-software group. His predecessor Ratan Tata was brought back in the interim, who has moved quickly to consolidate his position by seeking Mistry's removal from boards of key listed and unlisted group companies.

By virtue of its over 73 percent holding, Tata Sons removed Mistry as chairman of TCS last month and ordered the company to call an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders to consider his ouster as director on the company board.

In a bitter boardroom coup in October, Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding firm for the $100 billion steel-to-software conglomerate, and group patriarch Ratan Tata returned to the helm temporarily.