Tata tussle: Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan unlikely to back Mehli Mistry’s reappointment, says report

Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata, along with Deputy Chairman Venu Srinivasan and Trustee Vijay Singh, are unlikely to support the reappointment of Mehli Mistry as a trustee before his term expires on October 28, a move that could escalate tensions and potentially lead to legal action within India’s most powerful charitable body, according to the Economic Times.

The trio is expected to convey their decision on Monday, the newspaper said, citing several people familiar with the developments. Mistry, a trustee of both the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) since 2022, faces a contentious renewal vote. Together, the two funds own a 51% stake in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.

The decision to reappoint Mistry was reportedly moved on Friday by Tata Trusts CEO Siddharth Sharma, with trustees Darius Khambatta, Pramit Jhaveri and Jehangir HC Jehangir approving. However, the lack of unanimous support – a long-standing norm at Tata Trust – revealed deep divisions within the organisation’s leadership.

Business Today was unable to independently verify the allegations in the ET report. The story will be updated if Tata Trusts or any of the trustees issue a comment.

The tensions are said to stem from Mistry’s alleged animosity towards Noel Tata and some of Tata Sons’ nominated directors, including Srinivasan and Singh previously. Mistry also issued a conditional approval for Srinivasan’s reappointment last week, tying it directly to the approval of his continuation — a move the other trustees rejected as legally indefensible.

Legal experts say the fund’s internal management documents may not support such a conditional position. “When personal interest is involved, conditional consent is generally considered unenforceable,” Ashish K Singh, managing partner at Capstone Legal, was quoted as saying in the report.

Unlike companies governed by the Companies Act, trusts like SDTT operate under a combination of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, legacy trust deeds, and resolutions adopted over time. Notably, the Dorabji Tata Trust Deed of 1932 allowed decisions to be taken by a majority of existing trustees, but tradition favored unanimity — a norm that was broken for the first time in September during the removal of Vijay Singh from the Tata Sons board.

Adding to the intrigue is that Mistry is not only a long-time confidant of Ratan Tata but is also a cousin of the late Cyrus Mistry and is associated with the Shapoorji Pallonji group – the second largest shareholder of Tata Sons.