Amritanshu Khaitan quits McLeod Russel board citing personal reasons

Promoter family member resigns as non-executive director citing personal reasons, amid efforts to streamline roles within the Khaitan group

Amritanshu Khaitan, a member of the promoter family of McLeod Russel India, the country’s largest bulk tea producer, has stepped down from the company’s board.

 

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, McLeod Russel India informed that Khaitan, a non-executive director, tendered his resignation due to personal reasons and other commitments via mail/letter dated March 17, 2026. His resignation will be effective from March 17, 2026. 

 

The move is widely seen as a signal for demarcating operational control and governance within the promoter group. 

 

Khaitan’s resignation enclosed with the stock exchange filing mentioned, “While I am a member of the promoter family, my role on the board has at all times been limited to that of a non-executive director. My access to information has been confined to such information as was provided to the board in the ordinary course of board proceedings.” 

 

 

It added, “For the sake of clarity, I wish to place on record that I have not been involved in, nor have I participated in, the day-to-day management, operational affairs, or executive decision-making of the company.” 

 

It also said the resignation was a personal decision to enable him to focus on other areas and manage time commitments more effectively, and “should not be construed as being connected with the affairs, management, or operations of the company.” 

 

Sources close to the family, however, indicated that Khaitan would continue to be a promoter of McLeod Russel. 

 

Khaitan, the grandson of Brij Mohan Khaitan, had joined the McLeod Russel board and other group companies after the demise of his father, Deepak Khaitan, in 2015. 

 

In the last four years since the Burmans of Dabur India took control of dry cell battery giant Eveready Industries India, he has focused on group company, Kilburn Engineering. 

 

Brij Mohan Khaitan’s younger son Aditya Khaitan is a non-executive director of Kilburn. He is also the chairman and managing director of McLeod Russel India. 

 

Sources said a clearer alignment of family interests would help streamline and bring greater clarity to the operations of the two companies — McLeod Russel and Kilburn. 

 

While Kilburn has turned around, McLeod Russel is in discussion with National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) for debt resolution after most lenders assigned their loan accounts to the government-backed entity. The tea producer’s debt restructuring proposal is understood to be with the NARCL board for observations, according to sources.