Nusli Wadia ends defamation case against Ratan Tata, others
13 Jan 2020
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Wadia Group chairman Nusli Wadia today withdrew all defamation cases, including the suit for Rs3,000 crore damages, against Tata Group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and others.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde allowed Wadia to withdraw the petition in the apex court after the court recorded that Tata and others had no intention to defame Wadia.
“In view of the statement made by Tata that there was no intention to defame Wadia, which is in accordance with the finding of the High Court, the petitioner is hereby allowed to withdraw the present petition as well as the pending suit for damages,” the bench said.
The decision by the Indian-born British businessman comes after the top court on 6 January asked Wadia and Tata to sit together and resolve their differences in the defamation case.
The Chief Justice asked Tata and Wadia to resolve the defamation case on their own, calling the two as “mature people” being leaders in their own right. Bobde wondered why it was not possible to solve it.
Wadia had filed a criminal defamation case against Ratan Tata and other directors of Tata Sons in 2016 after he was voted out of the boards of some Tata Group companies.
Wadia backed Cyrus Mistry after he was ousted from Tata Sons in October 2016.The defamation case, filed in December 2016, also sought Rs3,000 crore.
In the defamation suit, Wadia also mentioned board members Ajay Piramal, Ranendra Sen, Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan, Ralf Speth and FN Subedar along with Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran who succeeded Mistry, who, according to Wadia, conspired to defame him.
The Supreme Court inforned senior advocate CA Sundaram, who was appearing for Wadia, that court appreciated his client for the response.
