Last week, Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, instructed CEO Siddharth Sharma to reach out to Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan regarding their potential voluntary resignation from the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (BHJTNCI). Tata expressed concerns that, despite previous legal opinions and established practices, the appointments of non-Zoroastrians to the Trust could be challenged, according to a source within the Tata group.<\/p>\n
In response to this request, Venu Srinivasan, who holds the position of Chairman Emeritus at TVS Motor, chose to resign from the Trust. Conversely, Vijay Singh opted to remain in his role.<\/p>\n
On April 2, 2026, CEO Sharma and Noel Tata had a discussion regarding the future of both Srinivasan and Singh within the Trust. They acknowledged that the specific provisions in the Trust Deed allowed for challenges to the inclusion of non-Zoroastrians as trustees.<\/p>\n
Former Chief Justice of India H.J. Kania previously stated that there is no legal or doctrinal barrier that prevents non-Zoroastrians from being accepted as members of the Trust. However, Tata Trusts maintains its position that Bai Hirabai’s directives explicitly forbid non-Zoroastrian trustees, as well as those who do not reside within the Bombay Presidency or Navsari.<\/p>\n
Sources indicate that both Noel Tata and Sharma believe that a legal opinion cannot replace a ruling from a judicial authority.<\/p>\n
Singh and Srinivasan were the only trustees who did not meet the criteria laid out by the Trust. Srinivasan’s resignation occurred shortly after Mehli Mistry, a former trustee of Sir Ratan Tata, formally contested the continued presence of both Srinivasan and Singh at the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner\u2019s office, highlighting their non-Zoroastrian status.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra has reached out to Tata Trusts concerning the affidavit submitted by Mistry. On April 2, Sharma informed Venu Srinivasan of this situation and reiterated that a legal opinion had been sought on the matter previously.<\/p>\n
According to Tata sources, Justice Kania’s interpretation suggests that the governing rules of the Trust do not explicitly prohibit such appointments, thus allowing for a more inclusive understanding of who qualifies for trusteeship.<\/p>\n
This perspective was exemplified by the appointment of R.K. Krishnakumar, a Director at Tata Sons and various Tata companies, as a trustee in 2000 during Ratan Tata’s leadership of the Trust. This decision was viewed as a practical endorsement of a more inclusive governance approach within the Trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week, Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, instructed CEO Siddharth Sharma to reach out to Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan regarding their potential voluntary resignation from the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (BHJTNCI). Tata expressed concerns that, despite previous legal opinions and established practices, the appointments of non-Zoroastrians to the Trust could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[702,1098,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-business","category-in-companies","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n