Mumbai — Tata Trusts has been granted an extension until October 19 to respond to a governance complaint filed by trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, amid growing internal disagreements over the future ownership structure and potential stock market listing of Tata Sons.
The Charity Commissioner approved the extension, moving the response deadline from October 12, NDTV Profit reported Tuesday, citing sources.
The development comes as senior trustees of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) have accused Srinivasan and Singh of undermining previously approved board resolutions and breaching their fiduciary responsibilities by publicly supporting a potential listing of Tata Sons.
Earlier this month, SDTT trustees Noel N. Tata, Darius J. Khambata, Neville N. Tata and Bhaskar Bhat signed a letter criticizing the two trustees for taking positions they said conflicted with established decisions regarding Tata Sons’ ownership structure.
The disagreement centers on whether Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, should remain privately held or pursue a public listing.
According to the trustees, maintaining Tata Sons’ unlisted status has been a longstanding position of both the company and Tata Trusts.
The Tata Sons board unanimously decided in March 2024 to preserve the company’s unlisted status. Trustees of SDTT and Sir Ratan Tata Trust reaffirmed that position in July 2025 and agreed to engage with the Reserve Bank of India on the issue.
The trustees argued that those resolutions remain valid and have never been formally reversed.
They criticized Srinivasan and Singh for expressing support for a listing without first requesting reconsideration of the existing resolutions or presenting their revised positions for discussion among fellow trustees.
According to the letter, the public statements could undermine the Trusts’ collective decisions and potentially affect Tata Sons’ pending application with the Reserve Bank of India.
The dispute also involves possible corporate restructuring measures intended to help Tata Sons maintain its privately held status while addressing regulatory requirements.
The trustees referred to a September 28 proposal to merge Tata Electronics Systems Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and Tata Consulting Engineers with Tata Sons.
The proposed restructuring was identified as a possible way to address the Reserve Bank of India’s principal business criteria for nonbanking financial companies (NBFCs) while allowing Tata Sons to remain unlisted.
The disagreement highlights tensions within Tata Trusts over governance, regulatory compliance and the future structure of the holding company that oversees one of India’s largest business conglomerates.
Tata Trusts now has until October 19 to submit its response to the complaint before the Charity Commissioner. (Source: IANS)
