Tata Trusts Board Meeting set against backdrop of IPO dispute and governance questions

The board of Tata Trusts will be meeting on Friday deeply divided, with several festering issues to be settled, dissenting voices to be removed and fresh questions expected to emerge.

The most significant issue before the trustees will be reaching some form of consensus on the proposed listing of Tata Sons. The matter has gained further significance after two prominent trustees — Tata Trusts vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan and former bureaucrat Vijay Singh — openly came out in support of the listing.

Their position has drawn attention because both Srinivasan and Singh had supported resolutions passed unanimously last year to keep the holding company unlisted. Their current stance has placed them in direct confrontation with the position consistently taken by Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, who is opposed to a listing on the grounds that it could dilute the Trusts’ control and veto rights.

According to a source familiar with the developments, the two trustees who had earlier backed a unanimous resolution opposing a public listing of Tata Sons have now sided with the interests of a minority shareholder in favour of an IPO. The source added that this could become grounds for the removal of the trustees.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which holds a little over 18 per cent in Tata Sons and is its largest minority shareholder, has consistently pushed for a listing of Tata Sons. In November 2025 and again last month, Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry appealed for the listing, arguing that such a move was essential for improving corporate governance, transparency, accountability and long-term stakeholder value.

Crucial issue

The Trusts meeting is also expected to take up a crucial issue related to the composition of directors on the board of Tata Sons. Sources indicated that Srinivasan, one of the trustees’ nominee directors on the Tata Sons board, could be removed and replaced by Bhaskar Bhat, who was inducted as a trustee on the board of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust last November.

According to the source, such a move is likely to receive the support of five trustees.

Other important matters expected to come up for discussion include a review of significant losses at several newer group companies, including Air India, Tata Digital and Tata Electronics.

The trustees are meeting even as former trustee Mehli Mistry has raised questions over the eligibility criteria for trustees serving on certain charitable trusts, including The Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution.

Srinivasan resigned from the Bai Hirabai Trust soon after Mistry filed a plea with the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner. Mistry also blocked the reappointments of Srinivasan and Singh to the boards of Tata Education and Development Trust, citing governance lapses.