Charity commissioner halts Tata Trusts board meeting after Srinivasan’s complaint

Bengaluru/Mumbai: The surprise intervention of Tata Trust vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan and two other complainants has prompted the Maharashtra charity commissioner to cancel a crucial board meeting of the trust scheduled on Saturday to decide on his continuation on the board of Tata Sons.

The charity commissioner’s directive does not disclose details of Srinivasan’s complaint, only stating that his complaint is “similar in nature” to that filed by advocate Katyayani Agrawal, who alleged that three members of the six-member Sir Ratan Tata Trust were permanent trustees in violation of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Rules, which stipulate that not more than one-fourth of the trustees can be life members.

The complaint by industrialist Srinivasan, who is also the Trust’s representative on the board of Tata Sons, is probably the first in recent memory where a Trustee has alleged misconduct at Tata Trusts, which owns Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.

“The complaint/representation of Advocate Katyayani Agrawal is specifically addressed to the Charity Commissioner. It is clear from the text that Mr. Venu Srinivasan has also made a representation to the Charity Commissioner. The issues highlighted by them are serious and require due consideration,” said a letter dated May 15 from Maharashtra charity commissioner Amogh S. Kaloti to the Tata Board of Trustees.

Srinivasan’s action and the charity commissioner’s notification late on Friday not to hold the meeting on May 16 caught five of Sir Ratan Tata’s six trustees off guard, according to an executive aware of the developments.

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The letter stated that Srinivasan’s complaint was received via e-mail on April 28. It was stated that “a similar complaint dated 28-04-2026 was also received via e-mail by Venu Srinivasan, Trustee of Sir Ratan TATA Foundation.”

“An Inspector’s investigation has been ordered in relation to these complaints and an investigation report is awaited. If a meeting of the Board of Trustees is held and any significant decision is taken regarding the administration, management or composition of the Foundation during the continuation of such investigation, this will lead to further complexity and multiplicity of proceedings. Therefore, it would be in the interest of both the Foundation and justice to postpone such a meeting pending the submission of the Inspector’s investigation report,” the letter said.

The charity commissioner, exercising his powers under Section 36A(1) and other provisions of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, directed the trustees of Tata Trusts to postpone the board meeting scheduled for May 16. “It has been instructed not to hold such a meeting until the inspector’s investigation report is submitted,” the statement said.

An email sent to Tata Trusts and Srinivasan seeking comment remained unanswered.

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Last month, three legal notices were sent to Tata Trusts seeking postponement of the Tata Trust meeting.

First of all, lawyer Agrawal had complained to the Maharashtra charity commissioner in April that three of the six trustees – Noel Tata, Pune philanthropist Jehangir HC Jehnagir and Jimmy Tata – were permanent trustees. This, he claimed, breached rules limiting the number of lifetime trustees to one-quarter of the total number of trustees.

This was followed by a complaint before the Bombay High Court, including a vacation bench, seeking a direction to stop the Tata Trusts from holding a meeting. Both the Bombay High Court and the two-judge bench had refused to give any verdict.

Last week, another person, Sunil Tulsiram Patilkhede, through his lawyer Katyayani Agrawal, sent a legal notice to the six trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), which owns 23.56% of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. Patilkhede’s complaint relates to an alleged irregularity in the transfer of shares from one of the trusts to the late Ratan Tata’s father in 1989.

All these complaints, including Srinivasan’s, come at a sensitive time for Tata Trusts, which wants to discuss Srinivasan’s continued tenure as a Tata Trusts nominee on the board of Tata Sons.

They also highlighted the differences between Tata Trust chairman Noel and vice-chairmen Srinivasan and retired defense minister Vijay Singh.

Also Read | Noel Tata takes on Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh in junior Tata Trust

Earlier this month, Noel Tata opposed the reappointment of TVS chairman emeritus Srinivasan and another trustee member, Vijay Singh, to Tata Trust’s Tata Training and Development Trust (TEDT).

Tata Trusts, which had initially agreed to meet on May 8, postponed the meeting to May 16 at the last moment.

Now the Board of Trustees will have to wait longer until the state charity commissioner allows the meeting to take place.

Noel Tata, Srinivasan, Singh, Jimmy Tata, Jehangir and Mumbai-based lawyer Darius Khambata are the six trustees of SRTT.

Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and SRTT control 51.4% of Tata Sons, while six smaller trusts own another 14.36%, taking the total ownership in the top Tata company to 65.9%.