Tata Sons, Trusts split on Chandra; board offers 5-year extension, Noel-led arm calls it ‘illegal’

Tata Sons’ board has offered a five-year extension to chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran despite opposition from Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, which described the reappointment resolution as “illegal”, underscoring a divide between the board of the group’s principal holding company and its promoter trust.

The resolution to hand Chandra — as the Tata Sons chairman is popularly known — a third term received the backing of four of the six board members. Noel Tata, who represented the trusts, voted against. Chandra did not vote.