A confidential letter written by senior advocate Darius J Khambata to key trustees of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust pushes back strongly against suggestions that the proceedings of a September 11, 2025, meeting amounted to a “coup” or “takeover” attempt within the Tata philanthropic fold, even as it underlines opposition to a potential listing of Tata Sons. Khambata, a former advocate general of Maharashtra and ex-additional solicitor general of India currently sits on the boards of two key Tata trusts - Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
In the November 10, 2025, letter, reviewed by Moneycontrol, Khambata says he has been “distressed” by the “spin doctored media narrative” around the meeting and describes the coup insinuation as “absurd”. The letter is addressed to Sir Dorabji and Sir Ratan Tata Trust chairman Noel Tata, and trustees Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh , Pramit Jhaveri, and Jehangir HC Jehangir.
According to Khambata, the September 11 meeting was an annual review of how the two key trusts are represented on the board of Tata Sons through their nominee directors, not an exercise aimed at displacing anyone or capturing control. “That representation (on the Tata sons board) is a duty to the Trusts, not a prize,” he writes, adding that he personally had twice declined Ratan Tata’s earlier suggestion that he be nominated as a trust nominee director on the Tata Sons board.
Khambata says he and others at the meeting “felt absolutely nothing against Vijay” and regretted that the trustee concerned was not present to hear their position “face to face”. He also expresses regret over what he terms the “unfair slant” in media coverage and the “consequent pain Vijay has had to bear”, adding that in hindsight “a greater attempt at forging a consensus should have been made by all”.
At the contentious September 11 meeting Vijay Singh had to step down from the Tata Sons board after 4 out of 7 trustees voted against his continuation in that position. Tata Trusts had three representatives on the Tata Sons board, Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, and Vijay Singh. Following the events of September 11, currently there are two nominee directors, Tata and Srinivasan.
Opposition to Tata Sons listing
Describing his motivation for the September 11 discussion, Khambata writes that he was driven by “one factor and one factor alone – viz to have a more assertive voice on the board of Tata Sons to help espouse the cause of the Trusts against listing of Tata Sons”.
The letter indicates that concerns over a possible listing of Tata Sons – the group’s principal holding company – had animated deliberations within the trusts “over the previous months”. The two trusts together are the largest shareholders in Tata Sons and their nominee directors play a key role in group-level decisions.
Khambata argues that it is “completely unwarranted and unfair” that he and others should have been “subjected to such a vilification campaign” for having, in his words, “honestly spoke our minds” on these issues. He says he has chosen to remain publicly silent so far “in the larger interests of the Trusts”.
Recounting events of October 2024, Khambata says those developments too “belie any suggestion (bizarre as it is) that the events of 11 September 2025 were an attempt to wrest control of the Trusts”. After Ratan Tata’s passing, he writes, he and others wanted Noel Tata to lead the trusts and believed that “he was the only person who could have done so”.
According to the letter, Mehli Mistry had proposed Noel Tata as chairman and Khambata had seconded the proposal. “I have had no cause for regret after that. The Tata legacy is in good hands,” he notes.
Call for unity behind Noel Tata
Khambata also reveals that, after the contentious September 11 meeting, he twice proposed a joint statement of unity from the trustees reaffirming Noel Tata’s leadership. The first attempt at such a statement was made almost immediately after the meeting, he says, suggesting that at least some trustees were keen to signal internal cohesion despite their differences on listing and how the interests of Tata Trusts were being represented on the Tata Sons board.
While the letter does not comment on subsequent internal moves or on the positions taken by individual trustees, it makes clear that Khambata sees the current controversy as a product of mischaracterisation rather than a genuine battle for control. “Those events also belie any suggestion… that the events of 11 September 2025 were an attempt to wrest control of the Trusts,” he reiterates.
The communication underscores how governance questions at Tata Sons – particularly around a potential listing and the balance of power between operating management and the charitable trusts that control the group – have become intertwined with personal equations and media scrutiny.
By stressing that the September meeting arose from a “difference of approach” on trustee representation, disowning any personal ambition to join the Tata Sons board, and explicitly backing Noel Tata’s leadership, Khambata’s letter seeks to recast the narrative from one of factional intrigue to one of internal debate over how best to protect the trusts’ long-term interests.
Moneycontrol could not immediately ascertain whether the trustees addressed in the letter have discussed or responded to Khambata’s proposals for a unity statement or his call to close ranks behind Noel Tata while continuing to deliberate key governance questions, including any future listing of Tata Sons. Moneycontrol has written to Darius Khambata seeking his comments on the letter.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
