From city civil courts to Madras HC to NCLT: Why TVS camps are filing caveats across courts amid succession dispute
As the TVS family's succession dispute heats up, the two camps involved are taking all precautions necessary to ensure there is no judgement passed without hearing the arguments of one of the sides, a report by NDTV Profit has revealed.
The dispute is an intra-family dispute involving TVS chief Venu Srinivasan, his wife Mallika Srinivasan, and their two children, Sudarshan Venu and Lakshmi Venu.
While Srinivasan is the chairman and managing director of TVS, his wife is the head of Sundaram-Clayton Ltd.
The publication reports that Srinivasan and his son, along with some TVS group companies, have been filing caveats in which they have named Mallika Srinivasan, Lakshmi Venu, and their allied companies. On the other hand, the mother-daughter camp has also been filing caveats against Srinivas, his son, and some major TVS companies.
The report states that the filings were made in various courts around 10 days ago. These include the City Civil Court, the Madras High Court, as well as the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The family choosing different forums to file their cases reflects the legal dimensions of the ownership dispute. If a potential civil suit goes to the Madras High Court, its valuation has to be in excess of ₹1 crore, the publication reported citing a source.
If the lawsuit is valued below this threshold, along with those that have sought injunctions, would fall in the jurisdiction of the civil court. Moreover, if there are allegations involving oppression or mismanagement, those cases would fall before the NCLT.
Differences reportedly emerged within the promoter family in April 2025, when TVS Holdings disclosed that Sudarshan Venu, Chairman and Managing Director of the flagship entity TVS Motor Company, was named a Significant Beneficial Owner (SBO) through trust structures.
Daughter Lakshmi Venu, who heads Sundaram-Clayton Ltd (SCL), an automotive component manufacturing firm, is seeking her rights. She has also consistently sought discussions and dialogue to reach a fair settlement of family wealth, they said.
The family executed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March 2024; however, it covers the use of the TVS brand across different business segments and a non-compete agreement.
"While management of these businesses is clear, the MOU entered into in 2024 only deals with brand usage and non-compete. It does not deal with economic settlement or a valuation-based division of family wealth," they said.
With PTI inputs
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