Cyrus Mistry to face trial in Rs500 crore defamation suit by Tata trustee

Mumbai: The Mumbai magistrate court on Tuesday admitted a Rs500 crore criminal defamation suit, filed by R. Venkataramanan, a trustee at Tata Trusts, against ousted Tata Sons Ltd chairman Cyrus Mistry and his family investment firms.

Mistry and the firms—Cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd and Sterling Investments Pvt. Ltd—will have to face trial on charges of criminal defamation under Sections 499, 500 and 501 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and appear before the court on 24 August.

Venkataramanan filed the defamation suit in his personal capacity on 7 June through the law firm MZM Legal, citing allegations that Mistry made against him in an email he wrote to Tata Sons directors and Tata Trusts trustees on 25 October. The allegations pertained to some transactions at AirAsia India, Tata Sons’s joint venture with AirAsia Bhd.

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