Tata Trusts, the majority shareholder of Tata Sons, has escalated its governance dispute with the holding company by disputing the use of a casting vote to ratify the reappointment of N. Chandrasekaran.

The Trusts, in a statement issued on Sunday (September 20, 2026), said the affirmative support of Tata Trusts Nominee Directors as mandated by the Article of Association (AoA) was not given to the board to make any decision.

“The condition failed, and so did the resolution. The Chairman’s casting vote is available only where there is equality of votes at the overall board level. It does not apply amongst Tata Trusts’ Nominee Directors. Whether the result of the vote was 4:1, or any other figure, is irrelevant,” the Tata Trusts said.

“A condition is either met, or it is not. In this case the condition was not met. It is now being suggested that a refusal of support amounts to a deadlock which would paralyse the Company and that the Chairman of the meeting was therefore entitled to resolve the position by a casting vote. There was no paralysis and there was no deadlock. The Board put a question, and the AoA answered it in the negative. The exercise of a protective right conferred by a company’s own constitution is not a deadlock; it is that constitution working as it was written to work,” it said.

“The resolution to reappoint Mr. N. Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of Tata Sons, considered at the Board meeting on September 17, 2026, was not validly passed and has no legal effect. In the eyes of the law, it is void ab initio. Articles of Association are not a convenience to be relied upon when they help and ignored when they don’t,” the statement said.

“Tata Sons is not at liberty to take this position, because it has already taken the opposite one and won in the Supreme Court,” it added.

Tata Group stocks fell on Wednesday (August 12, 2026), with TCS dropping nearly 6%, after Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said he will not seek reappointment when his current term ends on February 20, 2027.

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services tanked 5.70%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles tumbled 4.11%, Tata Consumer Products fell by 2.85%, Tata Elxsi dipped 2.14%, Tata Communications edged lower by 2%, Tata Steel slipped 1.96% and Titan skidded 1.66% on the BSE.

Also, Tata Power declined 1.40%, Indian Hotels Company went lower by 1.32% and Trent skidded 0.89% on the BSE.

In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 604.65 points to 77,544.63 during noon trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 192.05 points to 24,276.

Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran on Wednesday (August 12) said he will not seek reappointment when his current term ends on February 20, 2027, ending months of uncertainty over the leadership of the Tata Group’s holding company.

Mr. Chandrasekaran said the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust — majority shareholders in Tata Sons — had unanimously recommended extending his term by five years, with the proposal subsequently recorded and recommended by the Tata Sons Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Board.

The proposal was tabled at a Tata Sons Board meeting on February 24, but was not carried through after one Board member did not support it, Mr. Chandrasekaran said.

“In the absence of unanimous support, I chose to defer the decision,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Chandrasekaran said no resolution had been reached in the six months since that Board meeting, adding that clarity over leadership was important as Tata Sons oversees several strategic projects at critical stages.

“Under these circumstances, earlier today, I have communicated to the Tata Sons Board, that I have decided not to offer myself for reappointment when my term ends on Feb 20, 2027,” he said.

He asked the Board to decide on his successor soon to ensure a smooth transition.

Tata Sons, the principal holding company of the Tata Group, is majority-owned by Tata Trusts and controls more than 30 group companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors and Air India.