In an ongoing tussle between Tata Sons and Cyrus Mistry, the Tatas are set to question the six independent directors of India Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), who publicly reposed faith in Mistry's leadership, and if all of them would come out clean on not receiving financial or pecuniary benefits from the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, a Times of India report said on Monday.
Cyrus Mistry is the scion of the SP Group.
Earlier on November 4, all the six independent directors of the Tata Group's prestigious Indian Hotels Company publicly reposed faith in Mistry's leadership.
The support from IHCL's independent directors for Mistry comes against the backdrop of the rift between Ratan Tata and Mistry, who was abruptly removed as chairman of Tata Sons, the main promoter of IHCL, on October 24.
A senior member of the Tata Trusts, who ran the hospitality business and has been part of Ratan Tata's inner circle, is expected to rebut the statement of the six independent directors of IHCL and ask if they may have jeopardised its future by going against the decision to sack Mistry.
"While praising performance under Mistry, we wonder if they asked themselves what would happen if the Tatas withdrew all the guarantees executed in favour of IHCL.
Mistry, son of SP Group patriarch Pallonji Mistry, has refused to quit boards of various group companies and is banking on their independent directors in his battle against Tata Sons.
