Mistry refutes charges over AirAsia India woes
Mumbai, June 1: Former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry on Thursday denied "malicious and defamatory allegations" levelled against him over AirAsia India woes.
"It is well documented that R. Venkataraman was intimately involved in the affairs of AirAsia India right from its inception. He has had many roles including that of Executive Assistant to Ratan Tata at the time of the formation of the Company, Tata Sons' nominee on the Board, as well as that of a shareholder with a 1.5 per cent stake in the company," Mistry said in a statement.
"Therefore, his weak excuse that he was only a non-executive director without any responsibility is totally without any merit."
Mistry said: "This ridiculous attempt to question the independence of the CBI and to cloak his alleged misadventures by using my name is treated with the contempt it deserves."
"Needless to state, I deny all the malicious and defamatory allegations against me."
Mistry's statement comes a day after AirAsia India's Director Venkataramanan in a statement said: "It is commonly known that the present accusations against AirAsia India find their root in baseless allegations made by Cyrus P. Mistry and the Shapoor Pallonji Group against Tata Trusts Trustees (me included) and Tata Sons in his 'revenge' legal actions."
Venkataramanan, who has been accused among other things of violating FDI norms in giving effective management to a foreign entity through FIPB clearance in 2013, has denied the charges.
The CBI on Monday filed an FIR against Venkataramanan, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, Deputy CEO T. Kanagalingam alias Bo Lingam, the then Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), and also some "unknown public servants" of the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The CBI on Tuesday said it had received information that AirAsia India was indirectly controlled and operated by the AirAsia Group and particularly AirAsia Berhad, violating the norms of the then FIPB.
This structure was directly formalized through a "Brand Licence Agreement" signed by AirAsia, represented by Fernandes, and AirAsia Berhad, represented by Bo Lingam, on April 17, 2013 which indirectly made AirAsia India a de facto subsidiary rather than a joint venture.
As per the then FDI policy, foreign airlines were allowed to own up to 49 per cent of shares in domestic airlines but effective management control must remain with the Indian partner.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
