The Bombay High Court has sent a notice to Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry in regards to a petition filed by Tata Trusts managing trustee R Venkatramanan that challenges an order dismissing summons issued to Mistry in the trustee’s Rs 500 crore defamation suit.
Earlier this month Venkatramanan approached the high court to appeal against an order passed by a sessions court in December last year which set aside the summons issued against Mistry and others.
The summons had been issued by a metropolitan magistrate’s court in July last year.
After hearing the petition Justice Revati Mohite Dere issued a notice to Mistry.
In his petition, Venkatramanan called the sessions court order “arbitrary and illegal”, adding that by examining merits of the case it had exceeded its jurisdiction.
Venkatramanan filed last year the criminal defamation suit against Mistry and several others in the magistrate court for allegedly making “false” statements, and has claimed damages to the tune of Rs 500 crore.
Email Sent By Mistry Defamatory
Venkatramanan claimed that an e-mail sent out by Mistry to the directors and trustees of Tata Trusts had contained “defamatory statements” against him.
In his complaint, he stated that after Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, Mistry sent an e- mail wherein he made allegations of fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs 22 crore in the group’s aviation venture, AirAsia India.
Mistry’s email also accused Venkatramanan of trying to cover the fraud up. The matter is currently under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate.
Venkatramanan has claimed that the e-mail, which was later leaked to the media, has caused irreparable damage to his reputation.
The case has been posted for next hearing after three weeks.
