Noel Tata, Bhaskar Bhat, Darius Khambata and Neville Tata have written to Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, setting out their position that Tata Sons should remain privately held and raising allegations concerning fiduciary duties as per sources to ET Now and Times Now Digital.
The letter comes amid an ongoing disagreement among Tata Trusts trustees over Tata Sons’ proposed restructuring and matters relating to the governance and administration of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Tata Trusts’ Spokesperson had earlier told Times Now Digital, “while it is reported in the media that Mr. Venu Srinivasan and Mr. Vijay Singh have filed complaint against SDTT with the Ld. Charity Commissioner, SDTT has not been served with a copy of any complaint filed by them. If the media reports regarding this is correct, then the assertions as reported in the media are denied in their entirety as untenable.”
As per sources to ET Now, in the letter, the trustees said the proposed restructuring was presented as an option to avoid the listing of Tata Sons and was not an attempt by the Tata Trusts to usurp the authority of the Tata Sons board. The trustees noted that Tata Trusts hold about 66% of Tata Sons and said their position would be an essential part of any restructuring requiring shareholder and NCLT approval. The letter also referred to what it described as “contradictory conduct” by Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, who had reportedly sought the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner’s intervention to prevent the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from meeting or acting. Separately, the Charity Commissioner has sought a response from SDTT by October 12 on the complaints made by Srinivasan and Singh. A PR representative of Tata Trusts did not immediately respond to ET Now’s query.
The latest exchange also follows Tata Trusts’ September 28 proposal for a strategic reorganisation of Tata Sons, which involved the proposed merger of two Tata Group entities with the holding company and aimed to facilitate Tata Sons remaining unlisted, subject to regulatory approvals.
Tata Sons Should Remain Private: Noel Tata, 3 Trustees Write To Srinivasan, Singh; Allege Fiduciary Duty Breach
