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Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026

 

MUMBAI – Former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar, head of the Nationalist Congress Party's Sharadchandra Pawar faction, Tuesday called for the "protection" of the charitable ownership structure of Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd., becoming the first senior politician to weigh in on the matter. "The Articles (of Association) adopted by shareholders that give trust-nominated directors an affirmative vote on key decisions, including the Chairman's appointment, should be honoured," Pawar said, adding that leadership decisions should be settled with the consent of the Tata Trusts through dialogue.

 

"The ownership structure of Tata Sons embraces philanthropy... this design is deliberate, not incidental," Pawar said, referring to the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, and allied trusts collectively holding around 66% stake in Tata Sons.

 

In what has become a public feud, the Tata Trusts are at loggerheads with Tata Sons board members. Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata was outvoted by fellow board members last week as they opted to give Natarajan Chandrasekaran a third five-year term as chairman of Tata Sons. The Tata Trusts termed the appointment illegal. The trusts have also differed sharply from the Tata Sons board on taking the holding company public.

 

In his statement, Pawar spoke of how Maharashtra has benefited from the legacy of the Tata Group, through institutions such as the Tata Memorial Hospital and Tata Institute of Social Sciences. "Weakening the trusts weakens the institutions the country's and state's people depend on," he said.

 

The veteran politican's stand resonates with that of the Tata Trusts and Noel Tata, who have argued that listing the holding company on the bourses may only mean accountability towards analysts and institutions that may have a profit-first perspective and may not be open to taking longer-term bets. The Tatas have argued that their existing structure helps them to invest in projects that are for the greater good.

 

"The Hon'ble Supreme Court had earlier upheld affirmative rights of the nominee directors representing the Trusts to protect shareholders," Pawar said. "Even from a corporate governance point of view, the Articles govern a company. The Articles of the Group give the majority owner's nominees a decisive voice in choosing the Chairman, and that agreement should be respected."  End

 

Reported by Anand JC

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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