It’s not often that Ratan Tata retreats into the shadows when the company he steers is buffeted by a barrage of charges that leave scars of mistrust.

But when the man stepped out today to clear the air on everything that’s troubled his group in the past few weeks, he was more than willing to clasp the hot potatoes. "I’m glad you referred to Tata Finance Ltd (TFL)," he told shareholder at VSNL’s annual general meeting.

However, he did show signs of unease at the fact that there was too much of an attempt to dredge out dirt. "There is a concerted effort to get bad news from somewhere," he said in a statement as loaded as the disputes.

And, then came the flurry of facts and figures to fortify denials. "No Tata Finance fixed deposit holder or stakeholder has suffered a loss. We have pumped a sum of Rs 500-700 crore into the company. We have put in the money because it was our moral responsibility."

The Tata chief made a clean breast of the controversies engulfing his group when he fielded questions from scribes on the sidelines of the VSNL meeting.

Rebutting imputations made by former TFL managing director Dilip Pendse, he denied knowledge of investment decisions taken by Tata Finance, particularly those of its subsidiary, Niskalp Investments.

Tata claimed he came to know of TFL’s financial funk in April 2001, from Pendse, who called him in Dubai to talk about the problem.

"It is absolutely untrue that I was consulted by Pendse and I was not involved in TFL and its issues," Tata asserted. "The first time I was informed was when Pendse called me up in Dubai in April last year. If I was involved why would he contact me?" he said. The closing argument: "All issues will now be settled in court."

Pendse had put in his papers in February 2001 and relieved in May 2001. He filed an affidavit on August 16 in the Mumbai high court, arguing he was not the only one responsible for the string of losses suffered by TFL and Niskalp. He claimed the directors on the board of the two companies were aware of the investments all along.

The Tatas accused Pendse of cheating and criminal breach of trust, causing a Rs 424-crore loss to Tata Finance.

On the controversial VSNL board meeting that cleared the bulge-bracket Rs 1,200-crore investment in Tata Teleservices, Tata told shareholders: "I would not like to add to the controversy. The question of this investment did not require the approval of the government."

"The general view was that there was no dissent at the meeting. Still, the government-appointed nominee on the board was of the view that he had disagreed. We have recorded his views later," he added.