Inside the Tata Trusts turmoil: Vijay Singh alleges a coordinated ouster

Vice-Chairman Vijay Singh says a group of Tata Trusts trustees worked together to push him out of the Tata Sons board, claiming his removal was 'well planned if not plotted' and part of a wider power

A new round of internal tensions has surfaced within Tata Trusts after Vice-Chairman Vijay Singh alleged that a group of trustees deliberately coordinated his removal from the Tata Sons board. Singh, who stepped down in September, has now offered his first detailed account of what he described as a planned effort to alter long-standing governance practices, according to The Economic Times.

 

Singh, a former defence secretary and long-time nominee director on the Tata Sons board, said the move “was pre-planned”, even though he had already expressed willingness to step aside. He exited after four trustees opposed his reappointment, a development that widened divisions within the Trusts.

 

Governance disputes take centrestage

According to the report, Singh rejected claims that his removal was tied to strengthening the Trusts’ stance against listing Tata Sons. He said discussions on that issue had already been settled.

 

He added that recent Trusts meetings had become tense, dominated by demands for deeper access to Tata Sons’ board agendas, minutes and internal deliberations. “A trio of trustees had earlier sought to undo a governance balance that had held for decades,” he said, as quoted by The Economic Times. He noted that these concerns had not surfaced “in the last two years of Ratan Tata’s life”.

 

According to Singh, the conflict shifted the tone towards Tata Sons chairman Noel Tata as well. He pointed to comments such as “I made you chairman” and “I will vote against you at the AGM” as signs of a break from past conduct. Singh said Noel Tata showed “remarkable forbearance and dignity” during the period.   

 

Singh disputes rationale for removal

Calling the listing argument an “afterthought”, Singh said formal resolutions on the matter had already been passed and trustees met the Tata Sons chairman on July 8 for lengthy discussions. The Tata Sons board had also authorised efforts to reduce debt to avoid listing, he said, quoting the ET report.

 

Instead, he argued that his removal was linked to an attempt by a faction to alter the Trusts’ arm’s-length relationship with Tata Sons.

 

The September 11 meeting where Singh was voted out marked a turning point. A later meeting on October 28 rejected the reappointment of trustee Mehli Mistry. Since then, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust has inducted senior Tata veteran Bhaskar Bhat and Neville Tata, with trustee tenures aligned with updated state rules.

 

“Neville Tata can bring fresh energy to the Trusts’ development work across healthcare, education and scientific research,” Singh said, as quoted by The Economic Times.

 

‘Well planned if not plotted’

Singh dismissed suggestions that he should have attended the meeting to hear an explanation from trustees. “No honourable person would wish to place himself in such a position,” he said.

 

“The 11 September meeting was orchestrated to oust me. I had already offered to step down but was advised against it. The episode was well planned if not plotted,” he said. “I was appointed to the Tata Sons board by Ratan Tata in 2013 and reappointed in 2022. Yet less than a year after his passing, I was removed — not by him, but by Mehli Mistry and other trustees.”