A bitter leadership struggle at Tata Sons escalated during a contentious board meeting that will determine the future of the 150-year-old conglomerate. On one side is N Chandrasekaran, who has chaired the group since 2017, and on the other is Noel Tata, head of the Tata Trusts that own about two-thirds of Tata Sons. Noel took over after the death of his half-brother Ratan Tata nearly two years ago.

The clash erupted when directors approved a five-year extension to Chandrasekaran’s term, with Noel the sole dissenter, and backed preparations for a public listing of Tata Sons, another move opposed by the trusts. At the Bombay House meeting, five board members favoured proceeding with the listing ordered by the Reserve Bank of India, while Noel opposed it. Noel declared the vote to extend Chandrasekaran’s tenure “illegal” and warned it would be open to serious legal challenge.

The battle exposes deep disagreements over who wields power at Tata, future ownership of the holding company, and leadership of the group that owns Air India, Tata Consultancy Services and Jaguar Land Rover.