Senior Advocate Darius Khambata exits Tata Trusts, launches scathing attack on board dispute

In a significant development amidst the ongoing internal disputes within the Mumbai-based Tata Trusts, senior Supreme Court advocate Darius Khambata has decided not to seek reappointment as a trustee of Tata Trusts. According to a Mint report, his tenure as a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) is concluding this week. In a four-page letter written on Monday to Noel Tata and Tata Trusts Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Siddharth Sharma, Khambata has sharply criticised the conduct of the Tata Sons board and two other trustees, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh.

Khambata termed the Tata Sons board meeting held on 17 September 2026 as 'a day that will live in infamy'. He stated clearly that these events have damaged the reputation of Tata Sons and have also cast a shadow on the image of Corporate India. According to Khambata, if Ratan Tata were alive today, the board would never have acted in this manner. He emphasised that duties are not towards individuals but towards institutions, and Ratan Tata always believed that the institution is greater than the individual.

The focal point of the dispute is the 17 September 2026 meeting, in which a vote was held to grant a third term to Tata Sons Chairman Chandrasekaran. Khambata questioned how a nominee director of the Trust could work against the interests of the Trust. Citing a previous Supreme Court judgment, he stated that the responsibility of a trustee is to protect the interests of the Trust. He accused Venu Srinivasan of ignoring the Trust's instructions a day before the 17 September meeting.

Khambata also expressed dissatisfaction over the issue of listing Tata Sons (listing on the stock exchange). He stated that in April 2026, Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan suddenly gave a statement to the media that they were in favour of listing, which was contrary to previous unanimous resolutions. Khambata called the Tata model a living example of Mahatma Gandhi's idea of trusteeship. He said that those who want to separate Tata Sons from the Trust are actually putting this national treasure at risk.

Praising Noel Tata's leadership, Khambata stated that Noel has worked with peace and dedication over the last two years. However, Khambata acknowledged that his and Noel's views differed on some matters, but Noel accepted those views in a democratic manner. One of the reasons behind this departure is also believed to be that consensus is required for the appointment of trustees, and due to differences with Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, Khambata's reappointment might have become difficult.

This development has come to light ahead of the next Tata Sons board meeting to be held on 26 November. Noel Tata wrote a letter to the board on 26 October challenging the legality of the 17 September resolution. Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also appealed to Tata Sons and Tata Trusts to resolve this dispute mutually instead of bringing it into the public domain, as stated in a Times of India report. After Khambata's departure, there will now be 5 trustees remaining in Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and 4 in Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Khambata wrote in the end that history will decide whether those to whom Ratan Tata entrusted this responsibility were able to rise above personal interests or not.