Illegalities alleged in Sir Dorabji Tata Trust

Mehli Mistry, who stepped down from the Tata Trusts as a Trustee in November last year after being denied reappointment, has alleged grave illegalities in the administration of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and prayed for the appointment of an Administrator to run the trust.

In a filing before the Charity Commissioner, Mumbai, seen by businessline, Mr. Mistry questioned the legality of the Board of Trustees arguing that appointments in the recent past were made in violation of Section 30A of the Maharashtra Public Trust Act 1950. The Board of Trustees now comprises of Noel Tata (Chairman), Venu Srinivasan (Vice Chairman), Vijay Singh, Darius Khambata, Bhaskar Bhat and Neville Tata. The last two were appointed in place of Mehli Mistry and Pramit Jhaveri, who stepped down in February.

Interestingly, Mr. Mistry has declared that he has “no desire” to rejoin the Trust board but that it should be run by “able, honest Trustees or an Administrator”. Earlier this month, Mr. Mistry had filed an objection with the Charity Commissioner against the presence of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh as trustees on the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution on grounds of their not being Parsis and residents of Mumbai, as required by the trust deed.