Mehli Mistry, who stepped down from the Tata Trusts as a Trustee in November last year after being denied reappointment, has called for an Administrator to be appointed to run the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT). He has also declared that he has no desire to rejoin the board of the trust.
In a filing today before the Charity Commissioner, Mumbai, seen by businessline, Mistry alleged grave illegalities in the administration of the Trust by the Board of Trustees which now comprises of Noel Tata (Chairman), Venu Srinivasan (Vice Chairman), Vijay Singh, Darius Khambatta, Bhaskar Bhat and Neville Tata. The last two were appointed in place of Mehli Mistry and Pramit Jhaveri, who stepped down in February.
Illegal board
Objecting to the Change Report filed by the Trust after his exit and the entry of new trustees, Mistry has contested his non-renewal as a trustee, arguing that it violates a 2024 resolution for mutual perpetual reappointments among trustess of SDTT and the other major trust, Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
Noel Tata
Venu Srinivasan
Vijay Singh
Mistry has contended that the board that voted him out was illegal as the appointment to perpetuity of Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan on the board was in violation of Section 30A of Maharashtra Public Trusts Act. The said section was introduced into the Act by the Maharashtra government on September 1, 2025 and it placed statutory restrictions and prescribed governance norms relating to the manner of reappointment of trustee, limits on tenure and limitations on appointment of perpetual trustees.
Failure of governance
Alleging that the governance of the trusts has been seriously compromised, Mistry has named two trustees in his filing for what he calls “illegal acts”. The first pertains to Vijay Singh, who is alleged to have pocketed commissions and sitting fees from Tata Sons and other Tata group companies totally ₹20.13 crore.
“A trustee is bound by strict fiduciary duties to act solely in the best interests of the Trust and to avoid any conflict of interest. The receipt of substantial financial benefits by a Trustee from entities connected with the Trusts is prima facie inconsistent with such obligations,” Mistry’s filing says.
In a more serious conflict of interest allegation aimed at Venu Srinivasan, Mistry alleges in the objection filing that Srinivasan and his son engaged Gerry McGovern, the COO of Jaguar Land Rover Brand & Luxury, as a consultant for Norton Motorcycles, a subsidiary of TVS Holdings.
He alleges that this is a breach of fiduciary duties as a Trustee and nominated director on the Tata Sons board and has pleaded for the Charity Commissioner to direct disclosure by Srinivasan if any payment was made to Jaguar Land Rover for utilising the services of McGovern.