Wadia files defamation case against Tata Sons

The suit has been filed before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Ballard Pier 36th Court through his lawyer Abad Ponda. It has come barely a week after he filed a defamation suit seeking Rs 3,000 crore as damages from the Tata Group and others. 

In the criminal suit, Wadia has alleged that all the accused have individually and collectively defamed him by printing, publishing and distributing per se false, frivolous, baseless, libelous, incorrect and defamatory material to tarnish his reputation and image among right thinking people. 

The Special Notices, seeking his ouster from three Tata Group companies, were sent on the letterhead of Tata Sons, signed by its COO and Company Secretary FN Subedar and hence the accused named were liable for printing, publishing and circulating the per se defamatory material. 

He said while the accused No 2-11 were directors on the board of Tata Sons and responsible for the contents of the Special Notices on the instructions of the Board of Directors of Tata Sons, excluding Cyrus Mistry and Farida Khambatta. 

“It is thus clear that Tata Sons is the principal offender who has committed the offence of defamation along with FN Subedar, while the Board Members of Tata Sons (excluding Cyrus Mistry and Farida Khambatta) have shared common intention of abetted the offence by actively participating in the same after a prior concern and have thus committed offences under various sections (500, 109, 34) of the Indian Penal Code,” the suit said. 

Wadia prayed to the court for taking cognisance of the offences committed by the accused named in the suit under the specified IPC sections which are punishable with simple imprisonment of upto two years plus fine, or both. Wadia sought for process to be issued against the named accused in this connection and that they should be directed to pay compensation as per Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code. He also demanded that the accused be directed to pay the costs of the litigation in the present complaint and any other or further reliefs deemed fit and proper by the court. 

Wadia becomes the second eminent personality connected to the Tata Group who had dragged the Tata Group to court in the ongoing imbroglio.

Tata Motors is likely to sign an agreement with the Indian Army for the sale of 3,192 Safari Storme SUVs after the Christmas holidays to replace the iconic Maruti Gypsy that has been serving the land forces for decades.

“We are now exchanging first draft of the contract. We hope that after the Christmas holidays we will be able to sign it,” Vernon Noronha, VP, Defence Business, Tata Motors Ltd, said here. The Army was looking for a vehicle with a hard top that runs on diesel and has climate control. “Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra were the last two to be in the fray and when the envelope opened, we gave a better deal to the Army,” he said adding that they have finished with the contract negotiation committee meetings. While the initial number of vehicles is just 3,192, the Army has over 35,000 gypsies to be replaced. “We have set our eyes firmly on that,” Noronha said, adding if the Army wants any variants, the company will be happy to provide. Tata Motors is also eyeing the nearly Rs 70,000 crore project for future infantry combat vehicles (FICVs) for the Army. Two of the five private contenders in the fray, apart from the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), will be selected for building the prototype.

Tata Steel has executed definitive agreements to acquire 100 per cent equity of Odisha-based Brahmani River Pellets Ltd for over Rs 900 crore. The acquisition would be funded from internal cash flows. “The location of the BRPL assets makes this very strategic to Tata Steel especially to our Kalinganagar operations and has significant operating synergies to make our Kalinganagar plant even more competitive for the future,” said Koushik Chatterjee, Group ED (Finance and Corporate). BRPL owns a 4 mtpa pellet plant at Jajpur, Odisha and 4.7 mtpa iron ore beneficiation plant at the state’s Barbil, with both connected through a 220 km underground slurry pipeline.