Tata power play: Chandrasekaran family's TVS ties emerge days after Venu Srinivasan backs his third term

Amid the ongoing boardroom tussle between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts, filings indicating business relations between Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran and Venu Srinivasan-led TVS Motor have surfaced. Chandrasekaran's family members have business relations with TVS Motor even as Srinivasan cast a decisive vote backing Chandrasekaran's reappointment, filings accessed by Mint showed.

Earlier this month, Srinivasan and three other Tata Sons directors backed a third five-year term for N Chandrasekaran amid opposition from Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata. Tata Trusts owns around 66% of Tata Sons.

Whether Chandrasekaran or Srinivasan flagged the relationship in front of the board or not is not known yet. If they failed to disclose their relationship, it could imply a violation of the Tata Sons Code of Conduct. Venu Srinivasan is a vice-chairman of the Tata Trusts and is also a member of Tata Sons' nomination and remuneration committee, which reviews N Chandrasekaran's performance.

Business Today could not independently verify the development.

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What Tata Sons’ conflict-of-interest rules say about family business links

According to the Tata Sons Code of Conduct, a conflict of interests happens when an employee "can get an unfair benefit, for themselves, a family member, or someone close, by making or influencing decisions about any deal". Executive directors are required to tell the board about any real or possible conflicts of interest.

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Inside the ₹106 crore TVS Motor warehouse project linked to Chandrasekaran’s family

N Chandrasekaran's son Pranav, and wife Lalitha are directors of Hanno One Warehousing Pvt Ltd, established in March 2025, according to ministry of corporate affairs (MCA). Hanno Infra LLP owns 99.99% of the company, with Lalitha reportedly signing on behalf of the LLP. Pranav owns one share directly.

In June same year, TVS Motor leased 17 acres of farmland in Tamil Nadu's Uddanapalli village to the company, according to the state registration records. In November 2025, HDFC Bank offered Hanno One a ₹60 crore construction loan, backed by lease rights and the building to be built.

The term sheet, reviewed by Mint, estimated the cost of the 3.3 lakh sq ft TVS Motors Warehouse Project at ₹106.3 crore. The project is slated to finish by March 2027. In April this year, former trustee Mehli Mistry asked the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner to look into a possible conflict of interest in TVS's hiring of a top executive of Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

How Venu Srinivasan defied SDTT's move to restrain him from voting on Tata Sons listing

Besides this, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) circulated Resolution no. 107 on September 16 to restrain Venu Srinivasan from participating in or voting on matters before the Tata Sons board. In the correspondence reviewed by Moneycontrol, SDTT said that Srinivasan's reported support for the listing was against its position and "disabled" him from representing the Trust's interests on the issue.

Next day, Srinivasan rejected the SDTT's attempt to restrict his participation.  In a strongly-worded letter, he said that he will exercise his voting rights on all matters properly before the Tata Sons board, specifically on the proposed public listing.

According to him, Resolution no. 107 reached him hours before the Tata Sons board was scheduled to meet on September 17. He mentioned his "considerable surprise and disquiet" at the manner and timing in which the resolution was circulated, saying it left him with no meaningful opportunity to respond.

What happened on September 17

He participated in the September 17 board meeting despite SDTT's attempt ot restrain him. Four directors voted in favour while Noel Tata opposed Chandra's reappointment. Besides Srinivasan, the other Tata Sons directors who backed Chandrasekaran's reappointment were group CFO Saurabh Agrawal, and independent directors Harish Manwani and Anita George.

Subsequently, Tata Trusts challenged the decision to reappoint Chandrasekaran, calling it "illegal" and a "legal nullity".