Business EconomyPosted at: Oct 6 2026 8:56PM


Noel Tata-led Tata Trusts slam Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh for reversing position on listing Tata Sons

Bobby Anthony
Mumbai, Oct 6 (UNI) Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and three Tata Trusts fellow trustees of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) criticised its vice-chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh for supporting the privately held Tata Sons getting listed on the stock exchange, stating that both of them never voiced their current preference at any board meeting of Tata Trusts, which always maintained a consistent stand that the Tata Sons holding company must remain private.
In a signed five-page Tata Trusts letter to Tata Sons on Tuesday, Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, his son Neville Noel Tata, former Titan CEO Bhaskar Bhat and Mumbai-based lawyer Darius Khambata stated that “The position that Tata Sons should remain an unlisted company has been the settled position of the Trusts, and of Tata Sons itself, for years”.
The letter also cited a Tata Sons board decision taken under the guidance of the late Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan N Tata and Tata Trusts resolutions of May 28, 2025 and July 28, 2025, which were both passed with the participation of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh.
The letter by Tata Trusts came after the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, in a letter sent on Monday, asked Tata Trusts to respond to trustee Venu Srinivasan’s complaint alleging governance lapses at the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), by Monday, October 12.
The five-page Tata Trusts letter to Tata Sons stated that “An ‘epiphany’ appears to have struck each of you in April 2026, that listing was suddenly good for Tata Sons and for the minority shareholders, Sterling Investment Corp Pvt Ltd and Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and caused you to go straight to the media, rather than deliberate upon and discuss the matter with your co-trustees”.
After Tata Trusts suggested on September 28 that Tata Sons could merge its two subsidiaries to drop its status of a core investment company (CIC) and a non-banking financial company (NBFC), Srinivasan and Singh alleged that the Tata Trusts made this proposal without consulting them.
“We are glad that you have realised, albeit belatedly, that the decisions of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) derive their legitimacy from collective deliberation,” the Tata Trusts letter to Tata Sons stated.
The Tata Trusts letter stated though Srinivasan and Singh demand deliberation within the Trusts, they themselves never informed Tata Trusts about their complaint to the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner regarding the functioning of Tata Trusts.
“We obtained copies (of the complaint by Venu Srinivasan) from the office of the Charity Commissioner on October 1, 2026. So much for your professed preference for deliberation within the Trusts,” the five-page Tata Trusts letter signed by Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, his son Neville Noel Tata, former Titan CEO Bhaskar Bhat and Mumbai-based lawyer Darius Khambata stated.
The Tata Trusts letter stated that Srinivasan and Singh did not back a Tata Sons initial public offering (IPO) at three Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) board meetings since April 2026.
“Your conduct as trustees has not indicated any inclination to deliberate on this existential issue with your co-trustees,” adding that protestations by Srinivasan and Singh “rings hollow”.
The Tata Trusts letter stated that speaking to the media undermined the resolutions by Tata Trusts as well as the pending application by Tata Sons with the RBI, calling it a “breach of fiduciary duties”.
The Tata Trusts letter stated that at its September 17 meeting, the board “requested the Tata Trusts (including SDTT) to work on the options to comply with the RBI’s communication,” and that “Venu Srinivasan was present at that meeting and took part in that discussion”.
“Far from usurping the functions of the board of Tata Sons, the Tata Trusts responded to its request,” the Tata Trusts letter stated.
The SDTT trustees also called the allegations of Srinivasan and Singh “absurd allegations” that the Trusts were running Tata Sons.
“The (Tata) Trusts do not run Tata Sons and do not seek to. The shareholding of the Trusts in Tata Sons is their principal asset, and the source of the income with which they carry out their charitable objects. Its character, and the governance that protects it, are secured by the rights which the Articles of Association of Tata Sons confer on the Trusts, rights which the Hon'ble Supreme Court has recognized, including the affirmative vote of the directors nominated by the Tata Trusts under Articles 118 and 121.
"The trustees are bound to protect that asset. Doing so is the stewardship of Trust property, not the carrying-on of a business. That is the position which the Trusts took in Mr Ratan N. Tata's time, and which we maintain,” the Tata Trusts letter stated.
UNI BA RN
Tags: #Noel Tata-led Tata Trusts slam Venu Srinivasan# Vijay Singh for reversing position on listing Tata Sons
More News

Noel Tata-led Tata Trusts slam Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh for reversing position on listing Tata Sons

06 Oct 2026 | 8:56 PM

Bobby Anthony.

see more..

CDK Global appoints Sudhakar Ramakrishna as president, CEO

06 Oct 2026 | 8:27 PM

Hyderabad, Oct 6 (UNI) CDK Global, an automotive retail software provider, has appointed technology veteran Sudhakar Ramakrishna as its president and CEO and a member of the company's board of directors, effective October 5.

see more..

HCL is a partner to establish Lucknow as one of India's leading AI innovation cities: CM Yogi

06 Oct 2026 | 8:05 PM

Lucknow, Oct 6 (UNI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stated that his government is committed to establishing Lucknow as one of India's leading AI innovation cities.

see more..

Textiles Ministry highlights reforms for cotton farmers, industry in Hyderabad

06 Oct 2026 | 8:00 PM

Hyderabad, Oct 6 (UNI) The Ministry of Textiles on Tuesday highlighted a series of reforms aimed at empowering cotton farmers, improving productivity and quality, and promoting digital transformation and ease of doing business across the cotton value chain at a Reform Utsav 2026 event here.

see more..

ServiceNow unveils AI Workflow Factory to scale governed enterprise automation

06 Oct 2026 | 7:22 PM

Mumbai, Oct 6 (UNI) ServiceNow has launched its AI Workflow Factory and Autonomous Engineer solutions, designed to help enterprises identify areas where artificial intelligence can improve work and provide a unified system for building, running and expanding AI powered workflows across organisations.

see more..