Former Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry dies in road accident

Published September 5, 2022
Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry — Reuters/File
Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry — Reuters/File

MUMBAI: Cyrus Mistry, the 54-year-old former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, died in a road accident near financial capital Mumbai on Sunday, Indian police said.

Mistry was ousted as chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $300-billion salt-to-software Tata conglomerate, in a boardroom coup in 2016, sparking a long-drawn-out legal tussle on which India’s top court eventually ruled in Tata Group’s favour.

The accident took place in Palghar, located about 100 kilometres north of Mumbai, on Sunday afternoon. Mistry was travelling to Mumbai from Gujarat with three others, B. Patil, the top police official in Palghar district, said.

A senior Mumbai police official said the car in which Mistry was travelling had rammed into a divider, and that he had died at the accident site.

Several prominent politicians and industrialists tweeted their condolences after news of Mistry’s passing was reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Mistry’s demise untimely and shocking.

“He was a promising business leader who believed in India’s economic prowess. His passing away is a big loss to the world of commerce and industry,” Modi tweeted.

Mistry’s family and Tata Sons did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Mistry was the sixth chairman of the Tata group, a conglomerate started over 150 years ago, and the second not named Tata. He was the brother-in-law of Noel Tata, half-brother of Mistry’s predecessor as chair Ratan Tata.

Mistry’s grandfather first bought shares in Tata Sons in the 1930s. The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, founded by Mistry’s father, currently holds a near 18pc stake, making it the largest single shareholder in a firm mostly controlled by trusts.

The decades-long relationship between SP Group, one of the country’s largest construction firms, and Tata Group was strained following his sacking, and SP Group has since been looking to “separate its interests” from Tata Sons.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...