Mumbai: One of the peeves that some Tata group directors held against Cyrus Mistry , the ousted chairman of Tata Sons, was about not honouring his stated intention to relinquish his Irish citizenship that he expressed while being considered for the top job, people aware of the matter said.In an interview held in the first week of Sept 2011 to shortlist a chairman candidate for Tata Sons, the selection committee comprising of N A Soonawala, R K Krishnakumar, Lord Bhattacharyya and Shirin Bharucha had raised a question on Mistry’s Irish citizenship and whether he would relinquish his foreign nationality.Mistry had allayed all apprehensions then by stating that regardless of whether he got the job (Tata Sons chairmanship), he was considering this (relinquishing his foreign citizenship status) for some time.ET has reviewed the note that summarised the interview.The Tatas have not raised this issue in any legal forum so far, but legal sources close to the group said many such intentions expressed by Mistry were never backed up by any concrete action from his side.Mistry continues to be an Irish citizen and has been touted by the Irish media as one of the richest Irish nationals, Tata Group sources said.People close to Shapoorji Pallonji group claimed that Mistry did submit his papers for Indian citizenship. “That didn’t happen because as per the law, Mistry would have to stay in the country for 11 months after application,” one of them said.The Tata Group selection committee had also interviewed many international candidates for the Tata chairman's role, lawyers close to SP group said, indicating that the group was at that time open to hiring an expatriate for the top job.Officials at SP group also said Noel Tata, half-brother of Ratan Tata, is an Irish citizen. He is married to Aloo, Mistry's sister. “If Tatas are so concerned about Cyrus's citizenship, how come they have Noel, an Irish citizen, on the Tata Trusts,” an official riposted.However, the other side contended that Noel Tata was not a contender for the chairman’s post and therefore it was a wrong comparison.Responding to ET’s queries, lawyers from SP Group said: “All the issues raised by the Tata Group in legal proceedings have been deliberated at length and rejected by the hon’ble courts. Any new allegation, however, baseless it may be, will be dealt with at the appropriate forum.”The Mistry family had to give up their Indian citizenship and become Irish citizens in 2003 because the Indian government did not approve of dual citizenship.Some people close to Tata Trusts have strongly reacted to the statement Mistry made on Sunday, that he is not interested in returning as the chairman of Tata Sons but would “vigorously pursue all options to protect our rights as a minority shareholder including a seat on the board”. They refuted the existence of any agreement or legal right for the Mistry family to demand a board seat. A Tata Trusts official alleged that Mistry is “mischievously attempting to portray an incorrect picture of the affairs of Tata Sons in order to wrestle a board seat for his family entities.”A strong legal rejoinder in the Supreme Court is underway and officers preparing legal submissions for Tata Group and the Trusts referred to their submissions before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that prove that the Mistry family companies became shareholders of Tata Sons in 1965.Yet, it was only in 1980, 15 years later, that Pallonji Mistry (Cyrus Mistry's father) was invited to the board of Tata Sons. That was in his professional capacity, with no linkages to the shareholding of his family companies in Tata Sons, a legal officer said. Pallonji senior exited the board of Tata Sons in 2004, and it was only in 2006 that Cyrus Mistry was invited to join the board of directors.The group has challenged Mistry to produce any written document that establishes any legal right his family entities have to nominate a director on the board of Tata Sons. To bolster their case, they have cited court papers that indicate that the SP group has voted in favour of every right of Tata Trusts incorporated in Articles of Association of Tata Sons.