Former Tata Trusts trustee Mehli Mistry has opposed the reappointment of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh to the board of Tata Education and Development Trust (TEDT), sources said.
Another trustee JN Mistry also opposed the reappointment, the sources added. A resolution for the proposed reappointments had been circulated among the trustees, they said.
TEDT is one of the allied trusts of Sir Ratan Tata Trust but does not have any stake in Tata Sons.
Governance lapses
The objections to the reappointment of Srinivasan and Singh are understood to be related to the governance lapses that Mehli Mistry had alleged in his filings with the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, said sources with knowledge of the matter.
Earlier businessline had reported that Mistry, in his filings with the Charity Commissioner, had alleged that Singh had taken commissions from Tata Sons in violations of the Trust Act. He had also alleged that Srinivasan had misused his position, as a nominated director on Tata Sons’ board, to get design work done by Jaguar Land Rover’s then COO Gerry McGovern, free of cost for TVS subsidiary Norton Motorcycles.
Singh, a former bureaucrat, told businessline that he had not yet been informed by the Trusts about the status of his reappointment, which was up for renewal effective May 10. He added that he had intended to step down on the completion of his tenure and that there was no question of his contesting the opposition.
Both Mistry and Srinivasan did not respond to messages sent to them for clarification.
This development comes just two days before a crucial meeting of the board of Tata Trusts, on May 8 and 12, where the trustees will be deliberating on the future trajectory of Tata Sons, its unlisted status, as well as some rejig on the board of the holding company.
A major decision that is expected during the meeting is replacement of Srinivasan with Bhaskar Bhat as a nominee director on the board of Tata Sons. This is intended to strengthen Tata’s position and enable him to push through any crucial decisions in his favour.
The rift between the trustees, which began soon after the death of Ratan Tata in October 2024, has only widened over time.