On 13 January, Nusli Wadia withdrew all the defamation cases that he had filed in 2016, including Rs 3,000 crore suit for damages against Tata group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and others.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde after recording the Tata Group’s statement of them not having any intention to defame Wadia, the apex court directed the two veterans to settle the dispute between them. Further, the court allowed Wadia to withdraw his petition against Ratan Tata and others.
“Given 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 stated.
Subsequently, Wadia through his senior advocate CA Sundaram stated to the apex court that he was ‘willing’ to withdraw all the defamation cases against Tata Group.
In 2016 after the Bombay Dyeing Chairman, Wadia was voted out of the boards of some Tata Group companies, he filed one criminal and one civil defamation case against Ratan Tata and the other directors of Tata Sons. He sought Rs 3,000 crore in damages following his removal as the independent director from Tata Chemicals, Tata Steel and Tata Motors for ostensibly acting against the group’s interests.
However, in 2019, the high court quashed the proceedings in the criminal case following a plea by Tata, who argued that the information was made public for shareholders, as mandated by law. Later, Wadia moved the top court challenging the order of Bombay high court.
