Tata Trusts power tussle: Trustee ousted from Tata Sons board makes SHOCKING revelations, his name is…
Tata Trusts power struggle: Amid the ongoing power tussle unfolding within Tata Trusts, Vijay Singh, a trustee who was voted out of the Tata Sons board, has made shocking revelations about the fractures within the Tata Group, which were exposed when a faction within the Trusts voted against his reappointment as a nominee director on the board.
What did Vijay Singh say about Tata Trusts vote?
Talking to The Indian Express, Vijay Singh, a 1970-batch IAS officer and former Defence Secretary, who is a trustee in Tata Trusts, said voting on any matter was “unprecedented” for the Trusts, and goes against the philosophy of the late Ratan Tata, who insisted on decision-making via “consensus and unity.”
“The idea of voting on any matter in the Tata Trusts is unprecedented. Ratan Tata was adamant that there should always be consensus and unanimity on issues… perhaps we are in a different era now,” Singh was quoted as saying.
The trustee revealed that he skipped the meeting in which the vote took place, and his absence meant he did not participate in the voting process. “Since I was not present there, there is no question of me voting for or against anyone. As is now well known, four trustees voted against my continuation on the Tata Sons board, for reasons that are unclear.”
How Vijay Singh was voted out?
Vijay Singh, who was invited by Ratan Tata to join Tata Trusts as a trustee in 2018, until recently, served as a director on the board of Tata Sons– the holding company of the Tata Group– but reportedly stepped down from the post after the Mehli Mistry-led faction allegedly voted against his reappointment.
Singh, who is still listed as a director on the company’s website, was appointed to the board in 2013 but stepped down in 2018 after the group’s retirement age was raised to 70. However, he returned to the Tata Sons board in 2022 after Ratan Tata made amendments to the group’s rules, making the retirement age more flexible.
What triggered the Tata Group power tussle?
As per media reports, the current power tussle within the Tata Group stems from board appointments, access to information, and Tata Sons’ long-delayed listing plans, which has resulted in a purported dispute between the trustees, essentially dividing Tata Trusts into two opposing camps.
While Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata is believed to support Srinivasan’s continuation on the Tata Sons board, a section of trustees are relative less supportive, with the Mehli Mistry-led camp, that includes Pramit Jhaveri, Darius Khambatta, and Jehangir H.C. Jehangir, questioning the implementation of Article 121A of Tata Sons’ Articles of Association, which outlines the Tata Trusts’ responsibilities in approving the holding company’s major financial decisions.
Earlier, the same group of trustees had reportedly clashed with Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan over the reappointment of Vijay Singh to the Tata Sons board as a nominee director of the trust at a meeting on September 11, following which Singh, a former Defence Secretary, stepped down from the position.
The reappointment to the Tata Sons board was necessitated by a key resolution passed after Noel Tata’s appointment as chairman last year, requiring nominee directors to be reappointed every year after they attain the age of 75.
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