Even as Tata Sons moved the Supreme Court challenging the restoration of Cyrus Mistry as the executive chairman of the group by National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) last month, the sacked executive on Sunday said he does to intend to pursue the post. 

"I intend to make it clear that despite the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order in my favour, I will not be pursuing the executive chairmanship of Tata Sons, or directorship of TCS, Tata Teleservices or Tata Industries," Mistry said in a statement on Sunday, a day before the top court is scheduled to hear the Tata Sons' plea. 

Mistry was restored as the Executive Chairperson of the Tata Sons by the NCLAT on December 18 last year, three years after he was sacked at a board meeting. In its petition filed before the top court, Tata Sons has sought a stay on the NCLAT order.

"I am humbled by the NCLAT order, which after review of the enormous material on record, recognized the illegal manner in which I was removed and the oppressive and prejudicial conduct of Mr Tata (Ratan Tata) and other Trustees," Cyrus Mistry said.

Mistry, whose family owns the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and also a share in Tata Sons, said he will "vigorously pursue all options to protect our rights as a minority shareholder." 

"I will, however, vigorously pursue all options to protect our rights as a minority shareholder, including that of resuming the 30-year history of a seat at the Board of Tata Sons and the incorporation of highest standards of corporate governance and transparency at Tata Sons," the 51-year-old businessman said. 

"In the last three years, both in conduct and in their statements to the world at large, the Tata Group's leadership has shown scant respect for the rights of minority shareholders. It is time the Group's management introspects and reflects on its conduct as it embarks on future actions," Mistry said.

"As an 18.37% shareholder, it is in our own interest to ensure the Group's long-term success. My family, although a minority partner, has been a guardian of the Tata Group for over five decades. This legal fight has never been about me. It has always been and will always be about protecting the rights of minority shareholders and upholding their right to demand a higher standard of corporate governance from controlling shareholders," he added.

Earlier, reacting to the reinstatement of Mistry, Tata Sons had said that the company law tribunal's order appeared to even go beyond the specific reliefs sought by the sacked executive. 

The order, which also declared the appointment of a new chairman N Chandrasekaran as illegal, has to take effect after four weeks.

Mistry had called the judgment "not a personal victory" but a "victory for the principles of good governance".

In a statement issued after the NCLAT verdict, Mistry had said, "Today's judgment is not a personal victory for me, but is a victory for the principles of good governance and minority shareholder rights. For over fifty years, the Mistry family, as the significant minority shareholder of Tata Sons, has always endeavoured to play the role of a responsible guardian of an institution that the entire nation is proud of."

Mistry was chosen by a selection panel to head the Tata Group after Ratan Tata had announced his retirement in 2012. However, he was ousted from his post four years later, when in 2016 a board of Tata Group's holding company, Tata Sons, voted to remove Mistry as the chairperson and named Ratan Tata as interim chairman. Natarajan Chandrasekaran was later named the new chair. 

A two-judge panel of NCLAT termed Ratan Tata’s actions against Mistry as oppressive and declared the appointment of a new chairman as illegal.