The Board of Directors of Tata Global Beverages on Tuesday removed Cyrus P. Mistry as the company's Chairman and appointed Non-Executive Director Harish Bhat to the post. Mistry's office termed the proceedings "illegal".Seven out of ten directors voted for the ouster of Mistry."After extensive deliberations and keeping in view the long term interest and alignment of all stakeholders and stability of the company, the Board of Directors resolved to replace Cyrus Mistry as Chairman of the Company, by majority vote, with 7 out of the 10 Directors present at the Board meeting, voting in favour of the resolution," the company said in regulatory filing to BSE.The board of directors also appointed Bhat as the Chairman, it added.However, Mistry's office said that the statement made to the stock exchanges by the company about the removal of Mistry as Chairman was "illegal" and "inaccurate".
"When the proposal to remove Mistry was sought to be moved, it was ruled out by the Chairman since it was not on the agenda. The meeting was conducted by Mistry as Chairman and was concluded. The statement made to stock exchanges today (Tuesday) is therefore inaccurate and illegal..," said a statement from Mistry's office. It further said the developments at the board meeting of the Tata Global Beverages Ltd were "nothing but a repeat of the illegality that the Board of Directors of Tata Sons Ltd did on October 24"."There was nothing on the agenda about replacement of the Chairman just as there was nothing in the Tata Sons Board Agenda on October 24." According to the statement, the Tatas "continue to demonstrate the lack of respect for due process of law that they have displayed". It said Bhat, an employee of Tata Sons, proposed that S.K. Santhanakrishnan be made Chairman at the meeting. "This proposal was ruled out since there was already a Chairman for the meeting, namely, Cyrus Mistry," the statement added.