Tata Sons adjourned its 108th annual general meeting on Tuesday within about half an hour of it starting, after the gathering failed to meet the quorum needed to proceed, a first in the holding company's history. The meeting opened around 2:30 pm and was called off by 3 pm once it became clear the numbers required were not in the room.
At the centre of the shortfall was the absence of a joint representative from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which together hold about 51.5 percent of Tata Sons. The two trusts were unable to jointly appoint someone to attend on their behalf after the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner placed restrictions on how the Sir Ratan Tata Trust can hold its own meetings, a step that left the two trusts unable to complete the joint appointment in time.
Those who did attend included outgoing chairman N Chandrasekaran, along with directors Saurabh Agarwal and Anita Marangoly George, in person. Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata joined virtually, as did Harish Manwani, Venu Srinivasan and Mehli Mistry, who serves as an executor of the late Ratan Tata's will.
The agenda for the meeting was expected to include Chandrasekaran's own position on the Tata Sons board, since he has already said he will not seek another term once his current tenure ends in February. With the AGM adjourned before any business could be transacted, the company's board is now expected to meet separately to fix a fresh date.