Tata Trusts feud deepens as Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh challenge Khambata's stand on listing, leadership
Tata Trusts Vice-Chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have strongly contested fellow trustee Darius Khambata’s criticism of the Tata Sons board’s September 17 decisions, accusing him of presenting an incomplete account of the dispute over the group holding company’s leadership and proposed stock market listing.
In a five-page letter dated November 11, the two trustees challenged Khambata’s arguments on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) regulatory requirements, the reappointment of Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and the responsibilities of Trust-nominated directors, according to a PTI report.
They also questioned whether the opposition to listing Tata Sons was genuinely aimed at protecting the Tata Group’s governance model or retaining control in the hands of the Trusts’ current leadership, as per the report.
The exchange lays bare widening divisions within Tata Trusts, which collectively hold around 66% of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $277 billion conglomerate.
At the centre of the dispute are questions over board independence, the authority of the charitable trusts and the future governance of the Tata Group.
Srinivasan and Singh rejected Khambata’s argument that listing Tata Sons would pose an existential threat to the Tata model and the Trusts.
"You describe listing as an existential threat to the Trusts and to the Tata model. We have seen no evidence for that proposition," the letter stated.
They argued that an organisation’s institutional character depended on the quality of its governance and accountability rather than whether it was publicly listed.
The trustees also cited companies controlled by foundations or trusts, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to challenge the suggestion that a stock market listing would necessarily undermine the group's values.
The two trustees also defended Tata Sons’ engagement with the RBI. They said discussions with the regulator began in 2023, followed by the repayment of debt and an application to surrender its registration in March 2024.
However, after a two-year review, the RBI concluded that Tata Sons continued to qualify as a systemically significant financial institution and would have to comply with the applicable listing framework.
The disagreement intensified after the RBI rejected Tata Sons’ application to surrender its Core Investment Company registration in September 2026.
While the board supported steps towards a listing, Tata Trusts maintained that the holding company should remain privately held and that alternative options should be explored.
A major part of the November 11 letter addressed the controversy over Chandrasekaran’s reappointment for another five-year term.
Srinivasan and Singh said the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust had unanimously recommended his reappointment on July 28, 2025.
However, the decision was deferred in February 2026, leaving the chairman’s tenure unresolved for seven months.
The trustees questioned why Khambata had not objected when the earlier unanimous recommendation was allowed to remain pending.
They defended the Tata Sons board’s September 17 decision, arguing that prolonged uncertainty had begun affecting leadership stability and the dignity of the chairman’s office.
"The Board's decision cannot fairly be regarded as the origin of a difficulty that had been developing within the Trusts for months," the letter said.
At the September meeting, the board backed Chandrasekaran’s reappointment despite opposition from Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata.
The two vice-chairmen also challenged Khambata’s interpretation of the Supreme Court’s Tata-Mistry judgment, arguing that directors nominated by the Trusts had fiduciary responsibilities towards Tata Sons.
They said such directors could not simply vote according to instructions from the Trusts and were required to exercise independent judgment in the interests of the company.
The letter also raised questions over changes to the composition of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in November 2025, alleging that the process had taken place without unanimous consent.
In their assessment, the greater danger to the Tata model was not a potential stock market listing or an independent board, but the erosion of collective decision-making and the concentration of authority.
The latest exchange follows Khambata’s decision earlier in November to decline reappointment to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust. He had questioned the effectiveness of engagement with the RBI and criticised the Tata Sons board’s September 17 decisions.
Noel Tata and Khambata have opposed Chandrasekaran’s reappointment and resisted listing Tata Sons, maintaining that public ownership could weaken the distinctive governance structure through which the Trusts safeguard the group's long-term interests.
With inputs from PTI.
Bhanu Pratap is a journalist who reports and writes on foreign affairs, India’s foreign policy, geopolitics and strategic affairs. He closely follows diplomatic developments in New Delhi and has a keen interest in defence and national security.<br> <br> Bhanu also focuses on in-depth, interview-based reports and regularly speaking with experts and policymakers to bring perspectives and context to major developments around the world.<br> <br> He is also interested in stories with strong humanitarian angles.<br><br> One such report examined the cases of Indian nationals who were allegedly recruited and forced into Russia’s war against Ukraine. While reporting the story, Bhanu spoke to the families of those affected and documented their experiences. The report was later taken into account by the United Nations in its findings on human rights violations linked to the war in Ukraine.<br> <br> For Bhanu, the zeal to produce meaningful and impactful journalism remains at the heart of his work.<br> <br>He has previously worked with Firstpost, NDTV, Newslaundry and Republic.<br><br> Bhanu studied at the Delhi School of Journalism, University of Delhi. He initially chose science with plans to pursue engineering, influenced by conventional expectations, but fate had other plans and eventually led him to journalism.<br><br> Beyond the newsroom, Bhanu enjoys exploring culture and history and often spends his days off on heritage walks. He is also passionate about travelling, biking and listening to folk music.<br> <br>For tips, reviews and suggestions, you can reach him at bhanu.pratap@htdigital.in.
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