The disagreement began after some trustees removed former Defence Secretary Vijay Singh as a nominee director and attempted to remove Venu Srinivasan, both allies of Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts. Tata Trusts holds a 66% stake in Tata Sons, giving it the power to appoint a third of board members and veto key decisions.

A major issue dividing the board is the potential listing of Tata Sons. The Reserve Bank of India previously classified Tata Sons as an “upper-layer” nonbank financial company, requiring a public listing. Some trustees fear an IPO could weaken their veto power and give the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, which holds 18.37%, greater influence.

Tata Sons expects RBI guidelines by year-end, which may exempt the company from a mandatory listing. Meanwhile, Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran has been asked to negotiate with the SP Group for a peaceful stake sale. Proceeds could help the SP Group reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

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