MUMBAI: In what may be one of the biggest defamation claims filed in India, Nusli Wadia, an independent director in three Tata companies, has sought Rs 3,000 crore in damages from Ratan Tata, Tata Sons and its directors, excluding Cyrus Mistry and Farida Khambata.
The defamation suit filed in the Bombay high court comes after Tata Sons sought Wadia’s removal from Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Steel. The parent company of Tata Group had initiated the move as it believed Wadia had tried to “galvanise” independent directors to support Mistry’s chairmanship in group entities despite the latter’s removal as Tata Sons chairman. Wadia is chairman of Wadia Group, which owns Britannia Industries and Bombay Dyeing. Going by valuations of promoter stake in listed Wadia group companies, Nusli is worth at least Rs 21,000 crore.
