Tata Trusts May 16 Board Meets Deferred After Venu Srinivasan's Complaint - Check Order Details

Tata Trusts Board Meet: Maharashtra's Charity Commissioner Amogh S. Kaloti has ordered Tata Trusts to defer its May 16 board meeting after complaints triggered an inquiry into the trusts' governance.

Tata Trusts holds 66% stake in the holding company of the Tata Group, Tata Sons, which currently faces public listing pressure. The trusts have been ordered not to hold the meeting until an inspector completes the probe and submits a report.

This directive comes after complaints over the trusts composition. Tata Trusts Vice-Chairman Venu Srinivasan is also one of the key complainants, as per the Charity Commissioner's order.

However, Tata Trusts in a statement noted that directions from the authorities are being examined and that it was not aware of any complaint filed by Srinivasan. 

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The crux of the issue is the composition of the Sir Ratan Tata Trusts (SRTT) board after Section 30A(2), inserted into the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act  (MPTA) by an ordinance effective September 1, 2025, capped lifetime trustees at 25% of any trust's total board strength. Of SRTT’s six trustees, Noel Tata, Jimmy Tata, and Jehangir H C Jehangir, are “life trustees”, which doubles the statutory ceiling.

SRTT holds a 23.56% stake in the $180-billion conglomerate’s holding company.

The latest updates linked to the Tata Trusts are indicative of a growing internal rift with Tata Trustees - Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan on one side, and Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata on the other.

The May 16th meeting agenda reportedly included reconsidering Tata Trusts’ representation on the board of Tata Sons. At present, the Trusts chairman Noel Tata and Srinivasan serve as nominees on the Tata Sons board.