MUMBAI: Cyrus Mistry , the ousted chairman of Tata Sons , said on Monday that he is stepping down from six listed Tata Group companies, as he plans to shift his battle against Ratan Tata to a forum "where the rule of law and equity is upheld".In a statement as well as in a broadcast on Monday evening, Mistry lashed out at Tata and former Tata Sons director Noshir Soonawala, accusing them of "refusing to give up participation in key decisions involving Tata Sons and the operating companies". He attacked Chennai-based businessman C Sivasankaran claiming that he had attempted to recover money from him but that the move had been leaked by somebody at Tata Sons. "The history of questionable dealings between the Tata Group and him is a matter of record since he proudly flaunts his close personal bond with Ratan Tata," Mistry said.Mistry, who was replaced by his predecessor Ratan Tata on October 24, said his next steps will focus on the relationship between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts, which hold a 66% stake in Tata Sons and were instrumental in his removal. "The time has to come to take matters to their logical conclusion. I will work on protecting the interests of the Tata Group and realising the vision of our founder, Jamsetji Tata, until my last breath," the former chairman said.Mistry had earlier asked the government to intervene in the functioning of the trusts alleging misgovernance and opacity in its functioning. However, the government so far has taken a neutral stand in the dispute."It is now clear that my attempt to protect and preserve the ethical legacy of our founding father, Jamsetji Tata, was the real cause for my ouster," said Mistry. "The pursuit of good governance and ethical business seem to have caused a serious discomfort in some quarters."Mohan Parasaran, former solicitor general and adviser to the Tata Group, said the salt-to-software conglomerate was prepared for a legal battle. "His resignation should have happened long back, it has happened very late. It seems part of a long-term strategy that he wants to fight. We will prepare ourselves for the legal battle. We will face it. We strongly believe we have a good legal case," he said. Mistry said it was time to be more incisive in his tussle with the Tata Group."Having reflected deeply, I think it is time to shift gears, up the momentum, and be more incisive in securing the best interests of the Tata Group…In order to be more effective, serve the objective of governance reform, and to regain lost ethical ground, I have decided to shift from the forum of the EGMs to a larger platform and also one where the rule of law and equity is upheld," Mistry said."I had initially not thought that one would need to seek an external forum to adjudicate issues that should never have arisen in the first place," he added. ET was the first to break the story on Mistry exploring legal option to drag Tata Sons and Tata Trusts to court in its edition of November 21.Tata Sons had lined up extraordinary general meetings of shareholders of Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Chemical, Indian Hotels and Tata Steel between December 20 and 26 to remove Mistry as director on the boards of these companies. On December 13, shareholders of the Tata group’s most profitable company Tata Consultancy Services voted a resolution to remove Mistry. Mistry said he will resign from these companies as the EGMs were creating uncertainty and he did not want to disrupt company operations. He alleged that Tata Sons is creating a situation of fear by threatening and coercing shareholders and employees. Mistry’s Shapoorji Pallonji is the secondlargest shareholder with 18.5% stake in India’s oldest business group.He announced his resignation soon after he attended a Tata Sons board meeting on Monday afternoon.Mistry, wearing a blue shirt, looked relaxed when he exited Bombay House, which has been the epicentre of one of India Inc’s biggest and messiest corporate battles for many weeks.The Tata Sons board meet which lasted for three hours was uneventful. The directors discussed the agenda of unlisted companies like the newly launched Tata CliQ."Bringing to the fore these ethical issues can have a short-term adverse impact on the Tata Group. However, I feel strongly that such short-term pain is necessary for the long-term interests of employees, public shareholders and other stakeholders of the Tata Group," Mistry said in his statement. "As a large shareholder of Tata Sons and a proud long-term partner, my family will also equally suffer this pain." Lawyers said since a long legal battle may hurt both camps, they may try to resolve the contentious issues."A long-drawn legal battle would adversely affect the established and reputed Tata brands, which may lead to devaluation of Mistry and his family stakes in Tata Sons and it cannot be ruled out that conciliation proceedings between the two camps may be resorted to,’’ said Ranjit Prakash, chief executive partner, Archeus Law."It’s another sad chapter and possibly Tatas should concentrate on their business and seek to boost investor confidence," said Parasaran.Cyrus Mistry's letter:Over the last five decades my family's steadfast support for the Tata Group has been one of guardianship. We have always ensured that we did the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of the consequences.It has now been eight weeks, waiting for concrete reasons to be provided by Mr. Ratan Tata for the illegal coup he staged on the 24th of October. Nothing cogent has been forthcoming.Having reflected deeply, I think it is time to shift gears, up the momentum, and be more incisive in securing the best interests of the Tata Group.In order to be more effective, serve the objective of governance reform, and to regain lost ethical ground, I have decided to shift from the forum of the EGMs to a larger platform and also one where the rule of law and equity is upheld.It is now clear that my attempt to protect and preserve the ethical legacy of our founding father, Jamsetji Tata, was the real cause for my ouster. The pursuit of good governance and ethical business seem to have caused a serious discomfort in some quarters.I have been attempting to resolve the governance break-down at Tata Sons for a considerable period of time.Mr. Ratan Tata and Mr. Noshir Soonawala, Trustees of Tata Trusts, who had retired from Tata Sons after multiple extensions, have refused to give up participation in key decisions involving Tata Sons and the operating companies, including those listed in India and abroad.This has undermined the Tata Sons Board apart from exposing the Tata Group including the Boards of Directors of various listed companies to serious regulatory consequences. Such behaviour has adverse implications for the beneficiaries of the Tata Trusts, which are public charitable trusts.In recent weeks, I have brought to the fore various ethical issues and evidence of governance breakdown in the Tata Group at the hands of certain trustees.I had raised the issue of recovery of large sums of money due from one Mr. Sivasankaran to Tata Sons in the September 15th Board Meeting, securing approval to litigate.Within a few days, Tata Sons received a legal notice instead - clearly indicating a leak from Tata Sons. The history of questionable dealings between the Tata Group and him, is a matter of record since he proudly flaunts his close personal bond with Mr. Ratan Tata.I had also tabled a forensic report containing findings of fraud and wrong-doing at Air Asia India for discussion at the October 24th Board Meeting. This discussion did not happen.Under the Interim Chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, a subsequent Board Meeting of Tata Sons was held on November 17th. With full knowledge of the fraud, further funds were released to Air Asia India. Yet, no concrete steps, expected of an ethical organisation to fix responsibility for the fraud have been taken till date.These are but some live examples. We all are aware of the 2G Spectrum scam and its unfortunate imprint on the reputation of the Tata Group. Even today, we hear of potential prosecution of those involved from the Tata Group.Bringing to the fore these ethical issues can have a short-term adverse impact on the Tata Group. However, I feel strongly that such short-term pain is necessary for the long-term interests of employees, public shareholders and other stakeholders of the Tata Group. As a large shareholder of Tata Sons and a proud long-term partner, my family will also equally suffer this pain.The time has to come to take matters to their logical conclusion. I will work on protecting the interests of the Tata Group and realising the vision of our Founder, Jamsetji Tata, until my last breath.I THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT