Mehli Mistry expands feud with Tata trustees by objecting to Board actions at SRTT

New Delhi [India], June 9 : Former Tata Trusts trustee Mehli Mistry has widened his challenge to the governance of the Tata Trusts by filing a fresh objection before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner against the functioning of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), one of the two principal Tata Trusts that together hold a majority stake of about 52% in Tata Sons.
The broader Tata Trusts network collectively owns around 66 per cent of Tata Sons.
The latest objection, filed on June 5, comes days after Mistry challenged the reappointments and eligibility of trustees in the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and earlier questioned the trusteeship of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh in another Tata charitable institution.
In the fresh plea, Mistry seeks the removal of five trustees, including Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, alleging conflicts of interest, financial impropriety, breach of fiduciary duties and repeated violations of governance norms.
He has also sought the appointment of an independent Administrator, while clarifying that he is not seeking reinstatement as a trustee.
In the SRTT objection application, Mehli has made fresh allegations against Tata Sons Chairman and Trustee Noel Tata. Mistry claims that while serving as a nominee director of the Trusts on the Tata Sons board, Noel Tata participated in, advocated for and voted in favour of a proposal approving a Rs 1,000 crore equity infusion into Tata International Ltd (TIL), despite simultaneously serving as the company's Non-Executive Chairman.
According to the objection, concerns regarding the proposal and Noel Tata's association with TIL were specifically flagged to the trustees through an email dated May 18, 2025, which sought reconsideration of the decision, an independent review of TIL's financial position and greater transparency. Mistry alleges that those concerns were ignored and that Noel Tata continued to participate in the decision-making process despite an apparent conflict of interest.
Mistry has further alleged that Noel Tata received commissions exceeding Rs 1.42 crore from Tata International while serving as its Non-Executive Chairman and simultaneously acting as a nominee director of the Trusts on the Tata Sons board.
According to the objection, the receipt of personal financial benefits from an entity substantially connected with the Trusts, while participating in decisions affecting that entity, raises serious concerns of conflict of interest and breach of fiduciary duties expected of a trustee.
The objection also alleges that Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh subsequently acted contrary to unanimous resolutions passed by the Trust. Mistry claims that despite unanimously approving the extension of Tata Sons Executive Chairman N. Chandrasekaran's tenure, Noel Tata later acted against the decision without any subsequent unanimous resolution of the Board.
Similarly, despite unanimously authorising Tata Sons to engage with minority shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji Group to ensure that Tata Sons remained an unlisted private company, the three trustees later publicly supported listing the company. Mistry argues that these actions reflect selective adherence to board resolutions and a pattern of inconsistent governance.
The objection also substantially repeats allegations made in the earlier SDTT proceedings against Vijay Singh. Mistry claims Singh received nearly Rs 15.89 crore in commissions and remuneration from Tata Sons between financial years 2013-14 and 2024-25 while serving as a nominee director of the Trusts, apart from receiving payments from Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Ltd and Tata Sikorsky Aerospace Ltd. He contends that these payments created conflicts of interest and deprived the charitable trusts of funds that could otherwise have been deployed for philanthropic purposes.
Similarly, Mistry reiterates allegations against trustee Venu Srinivasan, claiming that he engaged Jaguar Land Rover executive Gerry McGovern as a consultant for TVS-owned Norton Motorcycles despite serving as a director of Tata Sons, the holding company of JLR.
He has sought disclosure on whether any payment was made to JLR for those services, alleging a breach of fiduciary duties. The objection also refers to the pending idol theft case against Srinivasan arising from a 2018 complaint and argues that the ongoing criminal proceedings raise concerns over his suitability to continue as a trustee of one of the country's largest public charitable institutions.
According to Mistry, he had earlier brought to the attention of the Board the alleged commissions received by Vijay Singh and the alleged use of Tata resources by Srinivasan for personal purposes. He reiterates that his insistence on stopping these practices ultimately resulted in the trustees refusing to renew his own term.
In his objection application, Mistry reiterates that after the death of late Tata Soms supremo Ratan N. Tata, the trustees of SRTT and SDTT unanimously resolved on October 17, 2024, to reappoint each other upon expiry of their terms without any tenure limit to ensure continuity in governance. While other trustees benefited from that resolution, Mistry says his own reappointment was rejected. He further argues that amendments introduced to the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act in September 2025 invalidate several subsequent reappointments and render the present Board illegally constituted.
Calling the alleged acts a continuing pattern of maladministration, conflicts of interest and misuse of trust resources, Mistry has urged the Charity Commissioner to remove the existing trustees and appoint an independent Administrator to restore lawful governance of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. He maintains that his sole objective is to protect the institution and ensure its proper functioning, and not to return as a trustee.