Top 5 Boardroom Battles Of 2025: From Tata To Byju's - Corporate India’s 'Ugliest' Fights

As India's economy surged toward a projected 7% GDP growth in FY26, Corporate India in 2025 wasn't just chasing expansion—it was embroiled in a series of explosive internal conflicts that tested the limits

of governance, family ties, and regulatory oversight.These boardroom battles, often rooted in succession woes, fund misappropriation, and power tussles, rattled stock markets and drew unprecedented government intervention and scrutiny. From the Tata Group's high-stakes rift—echoing its 2016 Cyrus Mistry ouster—to the inheritance feud at Sona Comstar and scandals engulfing edtech and EV firms, 2025 exposed the underbelly of family-run empires and high-flying startups.This expanded analysis dives into the year's most acrimonious clashes, their timelines, financial impacts, and lasting repercussions.1. Tata Group's Internal Rift: A Governance Storm Amid MediationIndia’s $368 billion Tata Group faced its most serious internal rift since the 2016 Cyrus Mistry ouster, as reported by Reuters on November 21, 2025. The conflict erupted within Tata Trusts — the philanthropic arm that controls 66% of Tata Sons — over investment approvals, board nominations, and the looming RBI-mandated public listing of Tata Sons by September 2025, according to Business Standard on October 29, 2025.Trustee Mehli Mistry, a close confidant of late patriarch Ratan Tata, was blocked from reappointment as a “trustee for life” in the Sir Dorabji and Sir Ratan Tata Trusts on October 28, 2025, as confirmed by The Economic Times on October 30, 2025. This move by Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, and Vijay Singh marked the first-ever split vote in the Trusts’ history, breaking from decades of unanimity, the newspaper reported.Government intervention reached an unprecedented level when Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a closed-door meeting with Noel Tata and N. Chandrasekaran on October 7, 2025, as first reported by CNBC-TV18 on October 8, 2025. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group, holding an 18% minority stake, continued to push for a Tata Sons listing to unlock value and exit its debt burden, as detailed in a Reuters report on November 18, 2025.As of December 7, 2025, the listing deadline remains unresolved and the internal divisions persist, according to the latest update from Bloomberg on December 6, 2025.Timeline of Tata Rift (List)

• September 2025 – Mistry faction removes Vijay Singh from Tata Sons board.
• October 7 – Government mediates at Amit Shah’s residence.
• October 28 – Noel Tata blocks Mehli Mistry’s reappointment.
• November 21 – Trustee letter surfaces highlighting factional divide.
• December 2025 – No resolution; listing deadline approaches.

2. The Sunjay Kapur Saga: Inheritance Battle Engulfs Sona ComstarSunjay Kapur, Chairman of $3.6 billion auto-component maker Sona BLW Precision Forgings, died of a heart attack on June 12, 2025, while playing polo in the UK, as reported by The Indian Express on June 13, 2025. Within weeks, his mother Rani Kapur accused widow Priya Sachdev Kapur of attempting to “usurp” the family legacy and demanded a criminal probe into the “mysterious” death, according to a letter cited by Moneycontrol on July 24, 2025.Sona Comstar issued a cease-and-desist notice to Rani Kapur for spreading “malafide and defamatory” statements, as disclosed in a BSE filing reported by Business Today on July 25, 2025. The company proceeded with its July 25 AGM, appointing Priya as non-executive director with 99.44% shareholder approval, per The Hindu BusinessLine on July 26, 2025.As of early December 2025, probate proceedings over Sunjay Kapur’s will and the RK Family Trust (controlling 28% promoter stake) continue in Indian and UK courts, with no final successor named, according to the latest update from Mint on December 4, 2025.Key Players in Sona Feud (List)Rani Kapur (Mother)

• Alleges suspicious death and coercion
• Claims majority rights via 2015 will

Priya Sachdev Kapur (Widow)

• Appointed board director
• Backed by Aureus Investments (28% stake)

Mandhira Kapur (Sister)

• Supports Rani

Board / Jeffrey Overly (Chairman)

• Says procedures were lawful
• Rejects Rani’s allegations

3. Byju's Implosion: Raveendran’s $1B+ Legal CrisisOnce valued at $22 billion, Byju’s collapsed under legal, financial, and governance crises in 2025.A Delaware bankruptcy court on November 20, 2025, entered a $1.07 billion default judgment against Byju Raveendran for “willful and bad-faith” obstruction of discovery in the Byju’s Alpha bankruptcy case, as reported by Bloomberg Law on November 21, 2025. Lenders led by GLAS Trust accused him of diverting $533 million of a $1.2 billion term loan, according to court documents cited by Reuters on November 20, 2025.The Supreme Court of India rejected Raveendran’s settlement with the BCCI in October 2025, as covered by Bar & Bench on October 30, 2025, while insolvency proceedings against parent Think & Learn continue at the NCLT, per The Economic Times on December 5, 2025.4. Gensol Engineering Scandal: SEBI Cracks DownSEBI issued an interim order on April 15, 2025, barring Gensol Engineering promoters Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi from the securities market for allegedly diverting Rs 262 crore of project loans, as reported by Business Standard on April 16, 2025. The confirmatory order on July 30, 2025, extended the ban pending a forensic audit, according to Mint on July 31, 2025. The company entered insolvency proceedings in July 2025, as updated by The Hindu BusinessLine on December 3, 2025.5. Lenskart IPO Firestorm: Valuation Debate EruptsLenskart’s Rs 7,278 crore IPO, valuing the company at Rs 70,000 crore, was oversubscribed 28 times but listed flat on November 8, 2025, as reported by Moneycontrol on November 8, 2025. Founder Peyush Bansal faced criticism for cashing out Rs 850 crore while the IPO was priced at a 234× P/E multiple, according to an analysis published by The Morning Context on November 10, 2025.These 2025 boardroom battles highlight the governance fragility across Indian businesses.