Board divisions cloud Tata Trusts' crucial meeting on trustee reappointment today

All eyes are on Tata Trusts today as the board meets to decide on the reappointment of trustee Mehli Mistry to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), the two principal entities that together hold a 51 per cent stake in Tata Sons. The vote has split the trustees into two distinct camps, exposing widening divisions within the organisation’s top leadership.

According to sources, trustees Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, and Vijay Singh have opposed Mistry’s reappointment, while Darius Khambata, Pramit Jhaveri, and Jehangir HC Jehangir have supported it. The resolution for Mistry’s continuation was tabled by Siddharth Sharma, CEO of Tata Trusts.

Adding to the friction, Mistry, a long-time confidant of Ratan Tata, is reported to have given conditional approval for Venu Srinivasan’s own reappointment, fuelling further legal and procedural debate within the Trusts.

Mistry, who has served as trustee since 2022, shares long-standing business and personal ties with the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) family. Relations between the Tata Group and the SP family soured after Cyrus Mistry’s ouster as Tata Sons chairman in 2016, leading to one of India’s most high-profile corporate battles.

A Business Standard report described the ongoing lack of consensus as an “unprecedented development”, warning that it could deepen existing rifts within the Trusts.

Traditionally, appointments and renewals of trustees have been made unanimously, but this convention was disrupted in September when the Trusts voted by majority to remove former defence secretary Vijay Singh as nominee director on the Tata Sons board, the first such instance since Ratan Tata’s passing.

The divisions over Mistry’s reappointment come in the wake of a crucial Tata Trusts board meeting held on 10 October 2025. That meeting, initially convened to discuss healthcare funding, turned into a heated discussion over governance and financial oversight.

At the centre of the dispute was a proposal to infuse Rs 1,000 crore into the loss-making Tata International Ltd, chaired by Noel Tata. Several trustees claimed the move violated Article 121A of Tata Sons’ Articles of Association, which mandates prior Trust approval for investments exceeding Rs 100 crore.

SP Mistry calls for public listing of Tata Sons amid infighting within Tata Trusts

The controversy crystallised into two opposing factions, one led by Mehli Mistry, supported by trustees Pramit Jhaveri, Darius Khambata, and Jehangir HC Jehangir, advocating stricter compliance and transparency; and the other led by chairman Noel Tata, with Venu Srinivasan and allies favouring continuity of leadership.

The governance discord has drawn government attention at the highest levels. Home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman have reportedly urged Tata Trusts’ leadership to resolve internal differences, citing concerns over the potential impact on Tata Sons’ governance, ongoing restructuring plans, and a possible future listing.

Despite tensions, the 10 October meeting was said to have proceeded in a relatively restrained atmosphere, with trustees attempting to project unity while maintaining a focus on the Trusts’ philanthropic commitments in healthcare, education, and rural development.

In a rare public intervention, Tata veteran Noshir Soonawala, former vice-chairman of Tata Sons and long-time confidant of the late Ratan Tata, voiced deep concern over the governance rift. In a statement earlier this month, he described the situation as “painful to see,” urging trustees to reconcile their differences and preserve the unity and legacy of the 157-year-old conglomerate.

Soonawala, who played a key role in post-Ratan Tata deliberations last year, highlighted that decisions taken in 2024, including the appointment of Noel Tata as chairman of the charitable Trusts and the introduction of life tenures for some trustees, have contributed to current tensions.

His remarks are widely viewed as a call for course correction at a defining moment for Tata Trusts, whose governance model continues to shape the future of both Tata Sons and the group’s vast philanthropic mission.

With agency inputs