Tata Trusts challenge Chandrasekaran’s reappointment as Tata Sons chairman

Tata Trusts have challenged the reappointment of N. Chandrasekaran as chairman of Tata Sons, calling the board resolution invalid. They disputed the use of the casting vote in the September 17 board meeting and said there was no deadlock or paralysis during the meeting.

Tata Trusts stated that Tata Sons cannot take the position it has adopted because it has already taken the opposite stance and won in the Supreme Court. They argued that the Articles of Association are not a convenience to be relied upon when they help and ignored when they do not. The Trusts described the reappointment as void ab initio in the eyes of the law.

They criticised the chairman, N. Chandrasekaran, saying it was unfortunate that a company renowned for high standards of corporate governance was contending reappointment on an untenable interpretation of the Articles. Tata Trusts added that pulling apart a hundred-year-old structure to fill an imaginary gap was like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. They also said that Tata Sons, having adopted high governance standards by choice, was not a company in need of the discipline that listing is said to supply.