A high-ranking director within the Tata Group has broken his silence, acknowledging that a deeply divisive meeting held on September 11 proved disastrous for the powerful Tata Trusts. The director confirmed the gathering resulted in the loss of a coveted seat on the Tata Sons board, attracted unwanted attention from the Government of India, and generated a storm of negative publicity for the conglomerate.
The Botched Meeting and Its Fallout
The controversy stems from a Tata Trusts meeting where a bloc of four trustees, led by Mehli Mistry, successfully blocked the nomination of former Defence Secretary Vijay Singh to the board of Tata Sons. This move created an unprecedented 4:3 split, shattering the long-standing tradition of consensus championed by patriarch Ratan Tata, especially concerning appointments within the Trusts.
In a candid written response, the anonymous Tata director described the September 11 meeting as "botched" and stated it set off a chain of events that were detrimental to the Trusts' interests. "I don't know if there was a coup or not, but whatever happened was certainly botched. It resulted in the loss of a Trusts seat on the Tata Sons board, the attention of the Government of India, and a great deal of unwelcome publicity," the director told The Indian Express.
Internal Rancor and Regret
The internal strife is further detailed in correspondence between senior lawyer and trustee Darius Khambata and the Tata leadership. In a letter dated November 10 to Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and fellow trustees, Khambata expressed regret over the incident, insisting the trustees held no ill will towards Vijay Singh. He lamented that Singh was not present at the meeting to hear their position directly.
Khambata also strongly refuted characterizations of the event as a "coup" or "takeover," calling such claims "absurd." He framed the disagreement as a simple difference in approach during an annual review concerning the Trusts' representation on the Tata Sons board. "I had no such intention and I believe neither did anyone else. Nothing we did even remotely suggests this," he wrote.
A Clash of Personalities and Principles
The fallout reveals a clear division within the Trusts. A group comprising Khambata, Pramit Jhaveri, the now-departed Mehli Mistry, and Jehangir H.C. Jehangir were perceived to have acted in concert against trustees Noel Tata, Vijay Singh, and Venu Srinivasan.
Responding to Khambata's suggestion that Singh should have attended the meeting, the senior Tata director offered a sharp rebuttal, stating that "no self-respecting person would subject himself to being placed in the dock in this manner." This exchange underscores the personal rancor and bruised egos that have persisted since the September clash.
The stakes in this corporate power play are immense. The Tata Trusts hold a controlling 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, the principal investment holding company and promoter of the entire Tata empire. Currently, only Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan represent the Trusts on the Tata Sons board, a reduction directly linked to the September 11 vote.
