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The TVS Group, which is one of the most reputable car conglomerates in India, is experiencing a dramatic father-daughter conflict in which differences between Venu Srinivasan (73) and the daughter, Lakshmi Venu, came out on the floor of Sundaram Clayton Limited, a car holding company of TVS Motor.

It all boiled down to legitimate corporate governance issues over the position of the company secretary, PD Dev Kishan, who allegedly reported to the CFO of the parent company and not to the MD of the listed entity. The board accepted Kishan's resignation on March 27 on the ground of personal reasons and appointed a replacement.

Only 72 hours after it, Venu Srinivasan convened an emergency board meeting on March 30-31. The board overturned the resignation, turned Kishan into a full-time worker, and lifted Venu Srinivasan as chairman (and in a few reports, executive chairman) in his place. He also allegedly assumed direct leadership in the affairs of the government and ordered his daughter to concentrate on the business only.

According to insiders, there are stronger family orientations, which include Venu Srinivasan being closer to his son Sudarshan Venu (TVS Motor head) and Lakshmi Venu being perceived to be closer to her mother Mallika Srinivasan (of the TAFE group). Although Sundaram Clayton is still within the operational leadership of Lakshmi Venu as the MD, the quick U-turn has brought out concerns on the influence of the promoters, independent control, and succession planning in the listed company.

Regulators and investors have been paying attention to the episode, and it erases governance issues even in reputable family-owned businesses. The episode has caused fault lines, which have been under wraps internally, to be dragged into the light mildly by the TVS insiders as a storm in a teacup. The team has maintained good performance in the two-wheeler segment through professional management.