Tata Trustee Vijay Singh Claims His Tata Sons Board Ouster Was “Orchestrated”

Months after resigning from the Tata Sons board as a nominee director, Vijay Singh, the former Defence Secretary of India, has alleged that his removal was “well planned, if not plotted.”

Singh, who is also a trustee and vice-chairman of Tata Trusts, the group of public charitable trusts that hold a majority stake in Tata Sons, has been at the centre of months of turmoil within the organisation. The dispute became public after a Tata Trusts meeting on September 11, when trustees gathered to decide on Singh’s reappointment. A group of four trustees led by Mehli Mistry voted against his return, prompting Singh to step down. The group also included Darius Khambata, Jehangir HC Jehangir and Pramit Jhaveri.

This triggered a period of reported infighting between two factions: one aligned with Mistry, and the other with Trusts chair Noel Tata, supported by Singh and Venu Srinivasan.

“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,” Singh told the Economic Times in a report published on Friday.

He claimed his removal stemmed from attempts by a faction of trustees to alter the long-standing arm’s-length relationship between Tata Trusts and Tata Sons.

Singh also revealed that the months leading up to his exit were marked by tense Trusts meetings, with some trustees seeking unprecedented access to Tata Sons’ board agendas and internal matters. He said a few trustees who had not raised concerns in the past were suddenly questioning governance practices and even directing hostile remarks at Trusts chairman Noel Tata.

He argued that the official explanation for his removal, “strengthening the Trusts’ stance against listing,” as stated by fellow trustee Khambata in a leaked internal letter, appeared to be an afterthought. He claimed both Tata Trusts and Tata Sons had already formally discussed the matter and agreed Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran should first work towards making the company debt-free to avoid a listing.

Following Singh’s ouster, the Trusts also faced contentious votes on the reappointment of trustees Venu Srinivasan and Mehli Mistry. Mistry was voted out due to opposition from Noel Tata, Singh and Srinivasan.

Earlier this month, the Trusts inducted two new members: veteran Tata Group executive Bhaskar Bhat and Neville Tata, Noel Tata’s son.

“Neville Tata can bring fresh energy to the Trusts’ development work across healthcare, education and scientific research,” Singh told the newspaper.

His induction is widely seen as part of Noel Tata’s effort to consolidate influence within the Trusts.