Mumbai: Former Tata trustee Mehli Mistry told the Maharashtra charity commissioner on Thursday that the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) was delaying its reply to his complaints, citing the commissioner’s orders dated 15 and 18 May, which barred the trust from holding meetings until the inspector’s inquiry report is submitted.
In a handwritten submission seen by Mint, Mistry’s lawyer argued that filing a reply “would not constitute a decision regarding the administration, management or composition of the trust.” He alleged that failing to reply even after four months was deliberate and intended to delay the proceedings.
SRTT’s lawyers, however, told the deputy charity commissioner that the trust could not file a reply because meetings were barred. They argued that some of Mistry’s claims were incorrect and would rebut them in detail.
Mistry’s affidavit clarified that he is not seeking reinstatement. He said his complaint is that, as a trustee, he faces unlimited personal liability and cannot be held responsible for breaches by other trustees that he had flagged.
Related disputes
The commissioner’s office also heard related disputes on Thursday. The Bai Hirabai Jamshetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution challenged Mistry’s locus to contest trustee changes, arguing he was not removed but ceased to be a trustee when his term expired. “The objector was not removed as a trustee but ceased to be a trustee as his term of appointment expired by efflux of time on 28.10.2025,” its reply stated.
The trust submitted that a resolution proposing Mistry’s reappointment had not passed, leaving him without a fresh term. It also argued that the original will and codicil do not impose a blanket requirement that trustees be Parsis or Zoroastrians or permanent residents of Navsari or the Bombay Presidency.
Mistry, in his complaint, objected to the proposed appointment of Noel Tata in place of Vijay Singh, whose term expired on 14 August 2026, citing Clauses 6 and 18 of the trust deed dated 7 December 1923, which stipulate that trustees must be practising Zoroastrians of the Parsi community.
Countering this, the trust said Mistry himself had served a three-year term and had given his “categorical approval” to the reappointments of Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan during his tenure.
Both matters will be heard next on 5 November.
Meanwhile, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), which owns 27.98% of Tata Sons, sought more time on 5 October to respond to complaints of alleged mismanagement in the trust’s role in the affairs of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company. Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh filed the complaints. SDTT has until 19 October to reply.