Also, the uncertainty around the critical annual general meeting (AGM) of Tata Sons on August 18 continues. Even as the trustees wait to hear from the Maharashtra Charity Commission to lift the freeze on SRTT, they are also weighing the option of moving the court for a quick resolution, according to sources.
Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, and other trustees — Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Darius Khambata, Neville Tata (Noel’s son) and Bhaskar Bhat — started the meeting by referring to the email from Chandra a day ago. The members of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), some of whom had joined the meeting virtually Thursday morning, placed on record the trustees’ “deepest appreciation” for Chandra’s contribution and stewardship of Tata Sons and the Tata group over the past decade. The statement, issued after the meeting, said SDTT respects Chandra’s decision of not offering himself for reappointment when his second term comes to an end on February 20, 2027, and thanked him for his “immense contribution during a period of significant change, growth and transformation across the group”.
Even as the trustees of SDTT passed a resolution to initiate the setting up of a selection committee in accordance with the Articles of Association of Tata Sons for the purpose of recommending a new chairman to replace Chandra, it is learnt that the process cannot start until SRTT is allowed to hold meetings and take decisions. Earlier this year, the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner had frozen the decision-making powers of SRTT over alleged governance violations linked to life-time trustees.
According to the Tata Sons AoA, the two main shareholding trusts — SDTT and SRTT — have to jointly take a call on the members of the selection committee for the new chairman. Tata Trusts has to nominate three persons for a five-member search committee, which would include eminent personalities outside the Tata group also.
Sources said no potential candidates, within or outside the Tata group, were discussed in the context of the next chairman.
With the ongoing restriction on SRTT, the AGM of Tata Sons on August 18 looks unlikely, people aware of the matter said. Besides adopting accounts, including those related to dividend payouts, the AGM is scheduled to take up Chandra’s renewal as a director on board of Tata Sons. While some industry observers have linked the possible voting by shareholders at the AGM to renew his directorship as one of the reasons for Chandra’s sudden exit, others have said that the overall uncertainty around the top leadership at Tata Sons was the real cause. While Tata Trusts had passed a resolution last year recommending a third five-year term as executive chairman for Chandra, it was put on hold at a Tata Sons board meeting in February 2026, after Noel Tata raised a red flag over some Tata companies’ performance.
Sources pointed out, however, that Chandra will continue to remain a director even if there’s no AGM on August 18. People in the know said that the AGM would be convened on August 18 but adjourned due to lack of quorum if the freeze on SRTT is not lifted by then. If the meeting is adjourned, it will be called again after a week. If even that fails to take off, Tata Sons would approach the Registrar of Companies (RoC) for further action.
Since both the issues — starting the process of finding a successor to Chandra and holding the AGM — are urgent, Tata Trusts is learnt to be exploring legal routes to lift the freeze on SRTT at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the smaller trusts under Tata Trusts also had their board meetings through the day, discussing Chandra’s exit among other routine matters.
