The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today restored Cyrus Mistry as Executive Chairman of Tata Group. The tribunal said that his removal from chairmanship was illegal.

The two-judge bench of NCLAT said Ratan Tata’s actions against Mistry were oppressive and the appointment of N. Chandrasekaranas as the new executive chairman was illegal. It also quashed company’s conversion from public firm to a private firm.

As the news came before the closing bell, on Wednesday, shares of Tata Motors dropped 5.25 per cent to Rs. 174.95 on the BSE.

The Mistry family is the single largest shareholder in Tata Sons, with an 18.4 per cent stake.

Mistry was appointed as the sixth chairman of Tata Group in 2012. On October 24, 2016, he was ousted following a boardroom coup.  He was then replaced by N. Chandrasekaran on February 20, 2017, the latter was then heading Tata Consultancy Services.

(With input from agencies)