Srinivasan, Singh hit back at Khambata over Tata Sons board decisions

Tata Trusts Vice-Chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have launched a strong rebuttal to 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 and questioning whether his opposition to listing the group holding company is driven by the interests of the Tata institutions or the desire to preserve control in the hands of the Trusts' present leadership.

In a five-page letter dated November 11, the two trustees challenged Khambata's arguments on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) regulatory position, the proposed listing of Tata Sons, the fiduciary responsibilities of Trust nominees and the circumstances surrounding the reappointment of Chairman N Chandrasekaran.

They also questioned Khambata's account of the events leading to the September board meeting, asking why he had not objected when an earlier unanimous decision to renew Chandrasekaran's tenure was allowed to remain unresolved for seven months.

The unusually direct exchange exposes the depth of divisions within the Tata Trusts, which collectively hold about 66 per cent of Tata Sons, the holding company of the USD 277 billion conglomerate. At stake is not merely whether Tata Sons should remain privately held, but also the balance of authority between its controlling charitable shareholders and the company's board.

The latest exchange comes against the backdrop of an increasingly bitter power struggle within the Tata Trusts, which collectively control about 66 per cent of Tata Sons.

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The Hans India