Tata Sons listing row intensifies as trustees push back against dissent
The dispute within the Tata Group over the future structure and possible listing of Tata Sons has intensified, with senior trustees of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust responding to objections raised by two fellow trustees.
Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh had earlier questioned the handling of a proposal involving Tata Sons and said they had not been adequately consulted before positions were taken in the name of the trust.
A fresh letter from Tata Sons chairman Noel Tata, along with Neville Tata, Darius Khambata and Bhaskar Bhat, has rejected their assertions, according to a report by The Economic Times.
The trustees have argued that Tata Sons does not have to be listed and that the Reserve Bank of India has not specifically required such a listing.
Tata Sons is the principal holding company for 26 publicly listed Tata Group companies. Tata Trusts collectively own about two-thirds of Tata Sons, with the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust together holding roughly 51.54%.
In their response, Noel Tata and the other trustees referred to a Tata Sons board decision taken in 2024 and resolutions adopted by the two major Tata trusts in 2025. They said these decisions indicated support for retaining Tata Sons as a private company.
The dispute gained momentum after the Tata Sons board considered a September 17 proposal to merge Tata Electronics Systems Solutions and Tata Consulting Engineers with the holding company.
Srinivasan and Singh had objected to the proposal, arguing that its wider implications had not been sufficiently assessed before the trust’s position was determined.
The proposed restructuring is linked to efforts to preserve Tata Sons’ private-company status and avoid regulatory consequences that could potentially result in classification as a non-banking financial company or core investment company, circumstances that could trigger listing requirements under RBI rules.
The latest letter maintains that the Tata Sons board had also examined alternatives to a listing and that the trusts were responding to a request from the board rather than attempting to interfere with its authority.
The trustees also criticised Srinivasan and Singh for approaching the charity commissioner on September 25 seeking restrictions concerning meetings and circular resolutions of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
The exchange has brought an internal disagreement over the governance and future structure of Tata Sons into the public domain.