Tata Trusts mulls urgent legal action to enable SRTT to participate in key decision-making: Report

Chandrasekaran steps down: Tata Trusts is reportedly considering an urgent legal action to enable the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) to participate in key decisions at Tata Sons. Restrictions imposed by the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner are believed to be complicating the succession process following N Chandrasekaran’s decision to step down as chairman.

According to a report in The Economic Times, at a Tata Trusts meeting on Thursday, trustees discussed the impact of the restrictions on SRTT, which is currently barred from participating in important decisions. Since SRTT cannot participate, no joint representative can be elected for the AGM, as per the report that cited people aware of the matter.

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Tata Trusts may seek an urgent hearing before the Charity Commissioner or approach the Bombay High Court to ensure the succession process can proceed, the report added.

SRTT and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), the two principal trusts, must jointly nominate a representative for Tata Sons’ annual general meeting (AGM) next Tuesday. They also need to nominate three members to a selection committee tasked with choosing Chandrasekaran’s successor, the report added.

The meeting was attended by Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata and trustees Venu Srinivasan, Darius Khambata and Vijay Singh, along with SDTT and other smaller trusts.

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Tata Trusts said after the meeting that trustees had resolved to initiate "at the earliest" the process of setting up a selection committee in accordance with the Articles of Association of Tata Sons to recommend a candidate for the new chairman.

However, the trusts said no joint representative could be elected for the AGM because of the current restrictions. Tata Sons will now have to review the matter and wait until Tuesday for the trusts to update it on the quorum.

The Trusts board had been scheduled to consider and approve accounts and other matters ahead of the flagship company’s AGM, where Chandrasekaran’s tenure was expected to be a key issue. A day earlier, he said he would not seek renewal of his term, which ends in February next year.

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