Here’s what happened inside the boardroom meeting that led to Cyrus Mistry’s removal as Tata Sons Chairman

Cyrus Mistry’s removal as Tata Sons Chairman came as a shocker for many and for some people, the move was already on the cards.

When the board members met on Monday, the suggestion to remove Mistry from the top spot led to unprecedented scenes.

As per reports, Mistry’s ouster was not listed on the agenda at all.

According to a NDTV’s exclusive report, Mistry's removal led to acrimonious, unprecedented scenes inside the boardroom. Of the nine-member board, six voted in favour of his removal, two abstained. Mistry, as the ninth member, refused to be part of the process.

An insider told NDTV that removal of Mistry was brought up as a 'residuary' item, under the 'any other items' category, listed at the end of every board agenda.

After the meeting got over, Tata Sons sent out a press release, announcing removal of Mistry and Ratan Tata’s comeback as interim Chairman.

"The board in collective wisdom and on recommendations of principle shareholders took a decision to change for long-term of interests of Tata Sons and Tata Group," a Tata Sons spokesperson said.

After the news broke, Mistry protested and Shapoorji Pallonji termed the move as illegal. They are going to challenge the decision in Bombay High Court.

Mistry said as per Tata’s rules and regulations, a 15-day notice has to be given before bringing such an item before the Board, a timeframe, he said, in which he could have made a case for himself.

NDTV reported that the Board said to have told him "we have legal opinion" in support of the decision. Mistry asked to see the opinion; the board reportedly told him "this was not a court hearing".

Another board insider told NDTV that the decision to remove Mistry has been weeks, perhaps months, in the making. The decision, he said, "was not based on pique", but entirely on Mistry's dismal performance as CEO.

The insider told NDTV Mistry's ouster was a "guillotine" approach.

Mistry was appointed as Tata Sons Chairman in 2012.