Tata Trusts CEO defends action after Srinivasan, Singh accuse him of bias

Srinivasan on 2 April. Notably, this was a day before Mistry sought a probe by the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, highlighting the restrictive clauses. Mint has seen Sharma's letter to all 11 trustees of Tata Trusts where he sought to clarify his position.“I was also informed that Mr.

Vijay Singh and Mr. Venu Srinivasan were the only two Trustees on the said Trust who did not meet these criteria,” Sharma wrote in a letter dated 7 April to Tata Trusts chair Noel Tata and 11 other Trustees. Mint has seen a copy of the letter.“I, thereafter, discussed this with the chairman, Tata Trusts on April 02, 2026, and both of us felt that irrespective of the legal opinion and past precedent, it was open to anyone to question the appointments of non-Zoroastrians made to the Trust, in view of the specific clauses contained in the Trust Deed.

It was our considered opinion that a legal opinion per se does not substitute for a judicial pronouncement. In that light, and in good faith, the chairman requested me to speak to both Mr. Vijay Singh and Mr.

Venu Srinivasan, apprise them of the situation and ask them if they would like to voluntarily step down from the said Trust.”However, following Sharma’s 2 April communication, Srinivasan resigned, while Singh asked for more time. Both said in a media interview on Tuesday that the CEO had implicit bias in concealing material information, underscoring the tensions at the philanthropic entities that own Tata Sons.Tata Trusts' efforts to simplify the structure of the 14 philanthropic entities led the secretarial team to review the trust deeds of many of the individual trusts. However, Mistry cited these clauses to allege non-compliance with the trust’s deed and to question Singh and