Cyrus Mistry, an Indian-born Irish billionaire, died on Sunday in India in a car accident while travelling to Mumbai.
Mr Mistry and his companions were travelling in a Mercedes car through the Palghar district of Maharashtra when the accident happened on Sunday afternoon.
One other person was killed and two more passengers were injured, police in India’s western Maharastra state said.
Mr Mistry, who was 54, was ousted as Tata chairman in 2016, following criticism of his performance.
He was replaced by Ratan Tata – the man who Mr Mistry had himself replaced just four years earlier.
The boardroom coup was shrouded in mystery and sparked a long-running legal battle in which India’s top court eventually ruled in Tata’s favour.
The company operates in more than 100 countries – offering products including salt, steel and software – and had a revenue of $130bn (£110bn) last year.
“The accident took place around 3.15 pm when Mistry was travelling to Mumbai. The accident took place on a bridge over the Surya river. It seems an accident,” said the police.
The vehicle is said to have hit a divider in the road while crossing a bridge over a river, and Mr Mistry subsequently died at the crash scene.
At least two others were taken to hospital.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Modi called Mr Mistry a “promising business leader who believed in India’s economic prowess”.
“The untimely demise of Shri Cyrus Mistry is shocking. He was a promising business leader who believed in India’s economic prowess. His passing away is a big loss to the world of commerce and industry. Condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace,” the PM said.
The deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state has ordered a police investigation.
This is the latest blow for the Mistry family whose patriarch, Pallonji Mistry – Cyrus’s father – died in June at the age of 93. Their empire built luxury hotels, stadiums, palaces and factories across Asia, but was most recently known for a corporate feud with the Tata Group.
Cyrus Mistry was born into a Parsi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, the younger son of Indian construction magnate Pallonji Mistry and his wife, Patsy Perin Dubash. Because Cyrus Mistry’s mother was born in Ireland, his father made the decision to grant him citizenship there.
Mr Mistry is survived by his wife Rohiqa and their two sons.