MUMBAI: Mehli Mistry, a former trustee of Tata Trusts whose term was not renewed last week, has approached the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, seeking to ensure no changes are made to the Trusts’ roster of trustees without first granting him a hearing. This move, anticipated by observers, sets the stage for a likely legal battle that could draw attention to the governance mechanisms of India’s most high profile trusts.
The Charity Commissioner oversees affairs of public trusts in the state under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950. The move comes after Tata Trusts declined to renew Mistry’s term on October 28. In a written representation, Mistry has requested that any proposal to amend the list of trustees should trigger a formal notice to him, ensuring an opportunity to be heard before any decision is made. Tata Trusts is yet to file the ‘change report’ with the Charity Commissioner and is working on it, said people aware of the matter.
According to the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, once a trustee is removed or ousted, the reporting trustee is required to inform the Assistant Charity Commissioner in the Public Trusts Registration Office about the change in the prescribed manner.
Change Report Not Yet Filed
Such change has to be intimated as per the provisions of Section 22 of the Act.
"Ordinarily, once the change is reported, the officer concerned will issue a notice to the said trustee, asking him/her if they are agreeable with the removal or if they want to contest,” explained an officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. “This notice is issued within 90 days of the filing of the change report. In the event, they want to, the matter is heard before the Assistant/Deputy Charity Commissioner, as the case might be. The said officer will hear both parties and give its order, which can be contested before the Bombay High Court.”
In this case, Mistry has preemptively approached the Charity Commissioner, even before the change report has been filed.
“The Charity Commissioner is a quasi-judicial authority. It strictly goes by the Trust Deed of the said Trust, their constitution and bye-laws,” the person added.
Lawyers representing Mistry as well as other trustees have visited the Charity Commissioner’s office at Worli last week, people familiar with the development said.
An email sent to the Charity Commissioner didn't elicit a response until press time. There was also no reply to emails sent to Mistry and Tata Trusts.
Mistry's reappointment to the two principal trusts, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, was not approved by a majority of trustees on October 28. The two trusts together control a majority stake in Tata Sons, the conglomerate’s holding company, making them central to decision-making within the group.
It is expected that Mistry will argue that his renewal as trustee for life should be done in accordance with the resolution passed by the Trusts on October 17, 2024, shortly after the death of long-serving group patriarch Ratan Tata.
Preempting this, in their rejection letters, the opposing trustees — Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh — wrote that last year’s resolutions cannot be seen as automatic reappointments, and such an interpretation was legally flawed and ran counter to their fiduciary duties.
The Charity Commissioner oversees affairs of public trusts in the state under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950. The move comes after Tata Trusts declined to renew Mistry’s term on October 28. In a written representation, Mistry has requested that any proposal to amend the list of trustees should trigger a formal notice to him, ensuring an opportunity to be heard before any decision is made. Tata Trusts is yet to file the ‘change report’ with the Charity Commissioner and is working on it, said people aware of the matter.
According to the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, once a trustee is removed or ousted, the reporting trustee is required to inform the Assistant Charity Commissioner in the Public Trusts Registration Office about the change in the prescribed manner.
Change Report Not Yet Filed
Such change has to be intimated as per the provisions of Section 22 of the Act.
"Ordinarily, once the change is reported, the officer concerned will issue a notice to the said trustee, asking him/her if they are agreeable with the removal or if they want to contest,” explained an officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. “This notice is issued within 90 days of the filing of the change report. In the event, they want to, the matter is heard before the Assistant/Deputy Charity Commissioner, as the case might be. The said officer will hear both parties and give its order, which can be contested before the Bombay High Court.”
In this case, Mistry has preemptively approached the Charity Commissioner, even before the change report has been filed.
“The Charity Commissioner is a quasi-judicial authority. It strictly goes by the Trust Deed of the said Trust, their constitution and bye-laws,” the person added.
Lawyers representing Mistry as well as other trustees have visited the Charity Commissioner’s office at Worli last week, people familiar with the development said.
An email sent to the Charity Commissioner didn't elicit a response until press time. There was also no reply to emails sent to Mistry and Tata Trusts.
Mistry's reappointment to the two principal trusts, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, was not approved by a majority of trustees on October 28. The two trusts together control a majority stake in Tata Sons, the conglomerate’s holding company, making them central to decision-making within the group.
It is expected that Mistry will argue that his renewal as trustee for life should be done in accordance with the resolution passed by the Trusts on October 17, 2024, shortly after the death of long-serving group patriarch Ratan Tata.
Preempting this, in their rejection letters, the opposing trustees — Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh — wrote that last year’s resolutions cannot be seen as automatic reappointments, and such an interpretation was legally flawed and ran counter to their fiduciary duties.
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