Darius Khambata questions N Chandra's reappointment, declines Tata Trusts role

Darius Khambata declined another Tata Trusts term and criticised the September 17 Tata Sons board meeting. His letter deepened differences over N Chandrasekaran's reappointment and the proposed listing.Khambata criticises September 17 board meeting as damaging Tata Sons' reputation.New Delhi,Nov 2, 2026 17:10 ISTSenior advocate Darius Khambata, a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), has declined reappointment as a trustee and sharply criticised the developments surrounding N Chandrasekaran's reappointment as Tata Sons chairman, saying the September 17 board meeting damaged the company's reputation, reported Moneycontrol. In a letter addressed to Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and CEO Siddharth Sharma, Khambata questioned whether the Tata Sons board would have taken the same decisions had the late Ratan Tata been alive, according to the report."Would the board of Tata Sons have acted as it did on 17 September, had Ratan Tata still been alive? Of course not," Khambata wrote.Referring to the September 17 meeting, at which Chandrasekaran was reappointed as chairman of Tata Sons, Khambata described the day as one that would "live in infamy". "The sad events of 17 September 2026, a day that will live in infamy, have sullied Tata Sons’ reputation and have imperilled the image of corporate India. No spin doctoring can mask what happened," he said in the letter, seen by Moneycontrol.Khambata's criticism invokes Ratan Tata's emphasis on institutional continuity. He said the Tata Group must preserve the legacy created by its founders and nurtured by successive generations of leaders. The Moneycontrol report also notes that Khambata was strongly opposed to the listing of Tata Sons.WHY HAS KHAMBATA QUESTIONED THE SEPTEMBER 17 MEETING?The September 17 board meeting was a crucial moment for Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. The board approved a fresh term for Chandrasekaran, a decision that had faced opposition from Noel Tata.The meeting also saw the board decide to move towards listing Tata Sons, following the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) regulatory position on the company.Khambata's letter questions the manner in which the board handled the developments and argues that they were inconsistent with the institutional values associated with Ratan Tata's leadership.His decision to decline reappointment as a trustee, along with his criticism of the board meeting, adds to the differences within the Tata Trusts and the wider Tata Group over the future of the holding company.HOW THE RBI LISTING ISSUE BECAME A POINT OF CONFLICTTata Sons has been classified by the RBI as a non-banking financial company in the Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) category. Under the central bank's regulatory framework, such entities are required to list on stock exchanges within three years of being identified.Tata Sons was first classified as an upper-layer NBFC in September 2022, which meant it was expected to list by September 2025.However, the company repaid Rs 21,813 crore of debt during FY24 and applied to the RBI in March 2024 to voluntarily surrender its registration as a core investment company (CIC). This was an attempt to move out of the regulatory framework and avoid the listing requirement.The RBI rejected the application on September 11, 2026, and advised Tata Sons to take steps to comply with the rules applicable to upper-layer NBFCs. This brought the listing question back into focus.The issue, along with Chandrasekaran's reappointment, has become a major source of tension between Tata Trusts and the Tata Sons board. While Tata Trusts has favoured keeping the holding company privately held, the board's September 17 decision to proceed towards listing and give Chandrasekaran another term has added to the differences.- Ends