Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Sep 21: The escalating dispute over control of the Tata Group has brought some of India’s most prominent law firms and senior advocates into the fray, signalling the possibility of a prolonged legal battle between Tata Trusts and Tata Sons.
Both sides have engaged lawyers who have represented some of India’s biggest companies, while several senior counsels known for handling high-profile corporate litigation have also been retained, people familiar with the matter said.
The dispute over Tata Sons Pvt Ltd intensified last week after its directors voted to extend Chairman N Chandrasekaran’s tenure and move towards a potential public listing of the holding company. The decision went against Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata, who wants Tata Sons to remain privately held.
Tata Trusts, which owns 66 per cent of Tata Sons, described Chandrasekaran’s extension as “illegal”. The disagreement could eventually reach the courts if the two sides fail to resolve the matter.
A prolonged legal dispute could affect strategic decision-making across the Tata Group, as several key decisions require alignment between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts. The conglomerate, one of India’s oldest business groups, has interests spanning automobiles, aviation, hospitality and consumer products, with major brands including Jaguar Land Rover, Air India, Taj Hotels and Tetley.
Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have declined to comment on their legal representation.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, one of India’s largest law firms, has been advising Noel Tata and Tata Trusts for more than a year, according to people familiar with the matter. Managing Partner Cyril Shroff is personally handling the case, assisted by senior partners including Indranil Deshmukh.
The legal team also includes Bharat Vasani, who served as Tata Sons’ group general counsel for more than 17 years before retiring in 2017.
Tata Trusts and Noel Tata have also recently retained senior advocates Aspi Chinoy, Janak Dwarkadas, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi. Singhvi has publicly acknowledged his role in the dispute in a social media post, while Rohatgi declined to comment. Chinoy and Dwarkadas did not respond to queries.
Representing the other side is Shuva Mandal, a former Tata Sons group general counsel and former partner at AZB & Partners, where his clients included Reliance Industries Ltd.
Mandal was also a key legal adviser to Tata Sons while working at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, the firm run by Cyril Shroff’s brother. He advised the company when its board removed Cyrus Mistry as chairman in 2016. Mandal later joined the Tata Group as general counsel and helped oversee the lengthy legal battle with Mistry, which ended in Tata Sons’ favour in 2021.
His firm, Anagram Partners, has been representing Tata Sons and Chandrasekaran, commonly known as Chandra, for at least several months, according to people familiar with the matter.
Senior advocate Harish Salve has also been advising Tata Sons and Chandrasekaran, while senior advocate Ravi Kadam has been retained by Tata Sons, the people said. Salve has publicly acknowledged his involvement, while Kadam declined to comment.
In media interviews since Thursday, Salve has argued in favour of listing Tata Sons, saying the company needs to become a public company. He has also argued that a global institution should not be run solely by a small group of trustees and that greater transparency and professional management are needed.
Singhvi publicly countered those arguments on Sunday. Referring to Noel Tata being outvoted at the Tata Sons board meeting, he wrote on X that the “fundamental rights of shareholder-owners cannot be nullified in the manner in which they have been”.
Singhvi also described separating Tata Trusts and Tata Sons from their relationship spanning more than a century as seemingly unthinkable, offering an early indication of the legal arguments that could emerge if the dispute reaches the courts.
The immediate disagreement centres on the future structure and governance of Tata Sons, but its implications extend across the wider Tata Group because of the pivotal role of the holding company and Tata Trusts in the conglomerate's decision-making.