New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- An open split within the Tata Group has cast unflattering light on the role of Tata Sons director Venu Srinivasan, chairman emeritus of the TVS group. It was his backing of a third term for N. Chandrasekaran as the Tata holding company's chair that created a resolution-legitimacy crisis at the group.

The reversal of Srinivasan's stance on listing Tata Sons was key. In July 2025, as a Tata Trusts trustee, he had voted along with other trustees to keep Tata Sons private.

This April, he said it should go public. That month, he wrote to the charity commissioner of Maharashtra, alleging that the trust's permanent trustees exceeded the maximum allowed under a new rule.

Just months earlier, he had blocked Noel Tata's so...