Tata Sons issue notice to Cyrus Mistry aide Nirmalya Kumar

Nirmalya Kumar, a former member of now disbanded Group Executive Council (GEC) headed by ousted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus P. Mistry, said on Saturday that he had served a notice by Tata Sons for making "disparaging remarks" about the group and divulging future strategy.

The holding company of the Tata Group also asked for an unconditional apology from the visiting Professor of Marketing at London Business School and threatened to initiate legal proceedings against him. 

"We call upon you to issue an unconditional apology to the company, withdraw your disparaging remarks about Tata Group from social media and forthwith cease and desist from making any further public statements or disclosing any information in breach of your obligations you have explicitly undertaken and which, in any case, your past employment with the company enjoins upon you," the company said in the notice.

"If you fail to do so then please take notice that the company would initiate legal proceedings against you, both civil and criminal," it added.

In a Twitter reaction to the notice, Kumar, who was picked by Mistry to the now disbanded GEC, said" "Legal counsel #Tata to me: stop divulging "Tata Group's future strategy". Thought no strategy n roadmap was reason #CyrusMistry was fired!"

The GEC was set up in April 2013 with the objective of providing strategic and operational support to Mistry.

Tata Sons further said: "You (Kumar) have used information, entrusted to you in confidence, not only unauthorisedly but for the purpose and with the clear intention to cause detriment to the company and the Tata Group."

The notice also said that the company takes strong objection to Kumar's "disparaging remarks about the company and Tata Group" and reserves a right to claim damages for the same.

"In interviews say Tata group is grt - can't throw basket out 4 few bad apples. How is it disparaging? Lakh cr. marketcap loss #TataSons resp," Kumar added.