New Delhi. The last few months have been quite turbulent for the Tata Group, which has become a trusted name. After the meeting of top officials of Tata Group, there were reports of many deadlocks in the media. Sometimes there were talks of dissatisfaction between Noel Tata and Mehli Mistry and sometimes there was talk of the group getting divided into two groups. Now a person, one of the most senior officials of the group, has clarified the whole matter by writing a letter. He has written this letter addressed to Noel Tata and many things have been written in it regarding the ongoing dissatisfaction within the group.
Senior advocate Darius J Khambatta, who is involved in Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, both the trusts of Tata Group, has mentioned the meeting held on September 11, 2025 in a confidential letter written to all the key trustees. It is written in it that speculations like ‘coup’ or ‘takeover’ during the meeting are completely baseless. Khambatta has also opposed the possible listing of Tata Sons in his letter. He also denied the reports in the media recently that there is some kind of deadlock going on within the group.
Who is Khambatta who wrote the letter?
Khambatta is a former Advocate General of Maharashtra and has also been the Additional Solicitor General of India. Presently he is also included in the boards of both the trusts of Tata Group. In a letter written on November 10, 2025, Khambatta has said that he is troubled by the wrong story being nurtured in the media and has also called the allegation of a coup as absurd. He has written this letter addressed to Noel Tata, Chairman of both the Trusts of Tata Group and Trustees Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Pramit Jhaveri and Jahangir SC Jahangir.
What was the agenda of the meeting
Khambatta made it clear in his letter that the group’s meeting on September 11 was an annual review of representation and not an attempt to remove anyone from the post or gain control. Khambatta wrote that even during the reign of late Ratan Tata, he was offered the appointment of a nominee director of the trust twice, but he rejected it. Khambatta also said that during the meeting no member felt any opposition or dissatisfaction against Vijay Singh. The speculations being made about this in the media are also completely beyond the facts.
Opposition to the listing of Tata Sons also
Referring to the meeting of September 11, Khambatta writes that his only objective is to raise his voice to protect the interests of the board and trust of Tata Sons. The letter also reveals that recently there was discussion within the group regarding the possible listing of Tata Sons. Khambatta believes that it is quite unfair that he and others had to face such slander for expressing their views. At present, he remains silent in public most of the time, because it is for the sake of trust.
This year’s incident is related to last year
Referring to October last year, Khambatta said that the events then also belie the allegations like snatching control of the trust after September 11, 2025. After the death of Ratan Tata, all the members of the group considered Noel Tata as the right person to lead the Trust and everyone supported him. Obviously now there is no question of questioning his control. Everyone believed that Noel was the only person who could lead the group. Even Mehli Mistry had proposed Noel Tata as the president and Khambatta supported it. He writes in his letter, ‘I have no regrets after this, because Tata’s legacy is in good hands.’
Appeal for solidarity in support of Noel
Khambatta wrote in the letter that after the alleged controversial meeting of September 11, he twice proposed to the trustees to issue a joint statement confirming Noel’s support and leadership. He said that the first attempt was made immediately after the meeting, so that no confusion would arise. He said that while some members had differences over the listing of Tata Sons and its representation, he still wanted to signal internal unity. Khambatta wants to make it clear in his letter that the dispute arising within the group is not a fight for control, but is the result of misinterpretation.
It is appropriate to say internal debate, not dispute.
Khambatta, through his letter, has rejected any ambitions in the September 11 meeting and also clearly supported the leadership of Noel Tata. Through his letter, he has declared the story of factional conspiracy wrong, rather he has called this controversy an issue of internal debate. At present, it is not yet known whether the members of the Trust have given any statement or reaction related to solidarity after the letter, but at present there does not seem to be any possibility of any major deadlock within the group.
