Tata Trusts to Amend 1923 Deed, Calls Parsi-Only Trustee Clause 'Restrictive'

"In order to correct anomalies in the Trust Deed and to align it with the values that the Tata Trusts have always epitomised, the Trustees have decided to adopt proceedings before the appropriate authority for alteration of restrictive clauses in respect of eligibility of Trustees", said the Tata Trust in a press statement issued on Sunday.

Terming the clause which prohibits non-Zoroastrians from being Trustees of the BHJTNCI trust as "restrictive", among other clauses in the 1923 deed, the trustees state that non-Zoroastrians (non-Parsis) have always been appointed as trustees following a legal nod obtained by a former Chief Justice of India in the year 2000. Additionally, they assert that the Bai Hirabai Trust, which was established under a 1916 codicil to Sir Ratan Tata's will, has no restrictions on appointing trustees based on religion, ethnicity or race and it operates with limited assets and activities. Moreover, the Trustees have pointed out that there are no such eligibility restrictions in any of the other Tata Trusts.

"Non-Zoroastrians have been continuously appointed to the Trust since the year 2000, following a legal opinion obtained from a former Chief Justice of India....The Bai Hirabai Trust was created under the 1916 Codicil to the Will of Sir Ratan Tata, who died in 1918. The Codicil did not provide for any restrictions in respect of Trustees on grounds of ethnicity, race or religion. The Codicil further provided that the Trustees of the Will of Sir Ratan Tata, who were also Trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) - a Trust created by his Will - would also be Trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust. In the year 2015, the objects of the Bai Hirabai Trust were enlarged to also cover the general public as beneficiaries of the activities of the Trust. There are no such restrictions as to qualifications for Trusteeship of SRTT, nor of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), nor of any other Tata Trust. Nonetheless, it is a fact that the Trust Deed made in 1923 by the then Trustees contained restrictive clauses that, amongst other things, prohibited non-Zoroastrians from being Trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust. These provisions imposed restrictions not provided for by Sir Ratan Tata's Codicil", the press statement read.

In the press statement, the trustees have also reiterated their full faith and confidence in the Tata Trusts Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Siddharth Sharma and his administrative stewardship of the Trusts.

To recall, the row within Tata Trusts began in November last year, when Mehli Mistry, a former trustee, after being voted against by the Board of Trustees -- despite an October 2024 resolution to renew his trusteeship for a lifetime -- harmoniously exited from the trusts, citing his commitment to his late friend and former Tata conglomerate supremo Ratan N Tata.

Pointedly expressing that he does not seek his reinstatement in the Trusts, Mistry recently challenged the eligibility of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh's trusteeship in the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (BHJTNCI) on the ground if the duo is non-Parsi.

Subsequently, in less than twenty-four hours after Mistry's objection, Srinivasan tendered his resignation from BHJTNCI, citing his pre-occupation with other businesses. Subsequently, Mehli has also formally objected to the trusteeship of five trustees, including Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh in the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), flagging several illegalities and maladministration.

The Tata Trusts, including Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), own roughly 66% of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.

- ANI