Mehli Mistry voted out from Tata Trust

 

 

 

TATA Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and two other powerful trustees considered close to him blocked the reappointment of late Ratan Tata’s close associate and businessman Mehli Mistry as trustee, deepening the rift at the philanthropic arm that controls the holding company of Tata Group, people familiar with the matter said. Noel Tata was appointed head of Tata Trusts following the death of Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata last year. TVS Motor Co’s Chairman emeritus Venu Srinivasan and former Defence Secretary Vijay Singh voted against Mistry’s reappointment as trustee after the end of his three-year tenure on Tuesday, they said. The three other trustees -- former Citibank India CEO Pramit Jhaveri, Mumbai lawyer Darius Khambata, and Punebased philanthropist Jehangir HC Jehangir -- who are considered close to Mistry, supported his reappointment, they said. The unprecedented vertical split marks a sharp departure from the recent consensusdriven approach. Noel Tata and Mehli Mistry are two power centres in the Tata Trusts, which control a majority stake in the holding company of the Tata Group.

 

The former has the backing of Srinivasan and former defence secretary Vijay Singh, while the other three are with Mistry. Differences between the two groups came to the fore in September, when Mistry and three other trustees -- Jhaveri, Khambata and Jehangir -- voted to remove Singh as Tata Trusts’ representative on the board of Tata Sons -- the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate.

 

However, last week, Srinivasan was made a lifelong trustee in a unanimous decision. While Mistry had remained tight-lipped about his next move, it is likely he will challenge it in court. The challenge may be on the ground that a joint meeting of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust on October 17 last year -- within days of the death of Ratan Tata -- had agreed to make all trustees permanent. When contacted, Tata Trusts declined to comment. Last week, the CEO of Tata Trusts issued a circular to other trustees seeking Mistry’sreappointment to the Sir RatanTata Trust (SRTT), the SirDorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), andthe Bai Hirabai Jamsetji TataNavsari Charitable Institution. At SRTT, trustees are Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, VijaySingh, Jimmy Tata, Jehangir HCJehangir, Mehli Mistry andDarius Khambata. On the other hand, at SDTT, trustees are Noel Tata, VenuSrinivasan, Vijay Singh, Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri andDarius Khambata. Earlier, Tata Trusts had unanimously reappointed VenuSrinivasan as a trustee for life. However, sources said Mistry, along with three other trustees-- Jhaveri, Jehangir andKhambata --, while approving Srinivasan’s reappointment as trustee and Vice-Chairman of Tata Trusts, had put a condition that all future renewals of trustees be approved unanimously, failing which their approvalswouldbewithdrawn. Opinions in the two camps were divided on whether continuation of a trustee is automatic or requires unanimous approval from the trustees for a lifetime tenure. While one side maintained thatrenewal, after whichit will be for life, and a fresh appointment requires unanimous approval of trustees asperpast practice, the other side insisted thatreappointmentis automatic, anditis applicable to all the trustees.

 

According to the minutes of the joint meeting of the trusteesof theSirDorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust held on October 17, 2024, it was resolved that on the expiry of the tenure of any trustee, the trustee would be reappointed by the concerned trust without any limit being attached to theperiodof tenure, a source said. As per the resolution, any trustee who chose to vote otherwise would be in “breach of their commitment and is not fit and proper to serve on Tata Trusts by such conduct”, the person added. Moreover, the person said if there is any breach of the commitment by aTrustee,itwillnecessitate the reopening of all resolutions passed byTataTrusts, “including the appointment of Noel Tata as a director on the Board ofTataSons,which formedpart of the October 17, 2024, Trustees’ resolution”. Also, according to the October17,2024,resolution,all trustees are appointed on a long-term and life basis, and trusteeship would be revisited upon reaching 75 years of age. The infighting inTataTrusts had reached the Government, with the top brass of the Tata group,includingNoelTata and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister NirmalaSitharamanearlier this month.