Tata Trust Controversy: A major internal conflict has once again surfaced within the Tata Group. Trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) Venu Srinivasan has demanded an immediate inquiry into an important matter from the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra. Venu Srinivasan is also an important trustee of Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT). Apart from this, he is also serving on the board of Tata Sons as a joint nominee director of both the major trusts. He has claimed that there are serious deficiencies in the functioning of the trust and appealed for immediate intervention.
Srinivasan has written a scathing letter to the commissioner. In which he has expressed deep concern over the growing interference of charitable trusts in the business affairs of Tata Sons. He has also directly questioned the continuation of Noel Tata as a permanent trustee. Noel Tata is currently serving as the Chairman of Tata Trust. Srinivasan has strongly objected to Noel’s chairmanship base as well as the appointment of his son Neville. He clearly says that he is being deliberately kept out of the decision-making process altogether. They allege that the trustees of SDTT are flouting the rules by directly involving themselves in the strategic and important business affairs of Tata Sons.
Allegation of interference with commercial affairs
Tata Sons is the main holding company of the entire Tata group. Tata Trust has a major stake of 66 percent in this. Out of this 66 percent, SDTT has 27.98 percent and SRTT has 23.56 percent. If both are combined, it comes to 51.54 percent. Srinivasan’s biggest concern is that Tata Trust Holdings is interfering beyond its limits in the company’s business decisions.
In his letter, Srinivasan specifically referred to the statement issued by the trust on September 17. In this statement, Tata Sons put forward the idea of exploring other options instead of listing in the stock market. Apart from this, he also mentioned Noel Tata’s special proposal, which had a big plan to provide liquidity to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. Srinivasan clearly says that the trust is now doing the direct work of identifying big business deals, negotiating them and implementing them on the ground, which is not its job.
They believe that such commercial interference goes completely against the charitable objectives of SDTT. He has warned that doing so could put the huge tax exemption granted to the trust at risk. Citing the provisions of the Income Tax Act 2025, Srinivasan said that the law has strict rules regarding the business activities of non-profit organizations. Even the slightest violation of these rules will be considered a serious violation of these rules. In such a situation, the tax registration of the trust may be cancelled. Due to which the principal fund of the trust may have to suffer a huge financial loss, which will be difficult to recover.
Try to avoid making judgments
Srinivasan has said one more shocking thing in his letter. He wrote that a circular resolution was brought on September 16. Its main objective was to prevent them from expressing their opinion or voting on the proposed list of Tata Sons. He said that this was a very strange attempt so that he could not properly exercise his independent rights. Srinivasan says that his opinion was completely different from that of some other trustees, so there was a deliberate conspiracy to undermine his position.
Srinivasan termed the whole incident as a direct attempt to grab power (power grab) within the SDTT. He says that through this the trust wants to take complete control over the working of Tata Sons. Whereas by law it should be that the board of Tata Sons itself objectively evaluates every option available to it. He also reminded that earlier even in November 2025 there was an attempt to isolate him from important decisions. They claim that this is all a big effort to suppress the voices of people with different opinions so that absolute decision-making power rests in the hands of a few.
Important claims before the Charity Commissioner
Regarding this entire controversy, Srinivasan has strongly appealed to the Charity Commissioner to take several strict measures immediately. He has demanded a probe into the entire administration with immediate effect. Along with this, he has said that if necessary, some trustees should be suspended or removed from their posts and strict action should be taken.
Srinivasan has also demanded that Noel Tata be barred from participating or voting in all decisions of the SDTT that relate to the appointment of nominees or representatives of Tata Sons. He has also made an important appeal that Noel Tata be restrained from exercising his voting rights on behalf of the trust in the general meeting of Tata Sons. Further, he said that no new appointment, re-appointment or removal should be made to the SDTT board until the investigation is completed. The status quo should be maintained at all costs till the investigation is completed so that the investigation is not affected.
Major action has already taken place
Another important shareholder of Tata Sons, SRTT, has recently had a major controversy. In May this year, the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra imposed a strict ban on SRTT from attending meetings or taking any major decisions. The ban was imposed on allegations of gross violation of administrative rules relating to life trustees. State Charity Commissioner Amogh S Kaloti issued these strict instructions under Section 36A (1) of the Maharashtra Public Trust Act.
In fact, serious complaints were received regarding the composition of those involved in the SRTT Board, alleging that Section 30A (2) of the Act was not properly followed. Kaloti gave clear instructions to the SRTT board to adjourn its crucial May 16 meeting immediately. It was also ordered that no such meeting should be convened until the inspection report of the inspector was submitted.
It may be noted that Section 30A(2) prescribes the maximum number of lifetime trustees on the board of any public trust. Under a recent change in the law, this number has been capped. However, the Charity Commission is yet to pass its final order on the whole matter. Meanwhile, there are reports that Tata Trust has also unveiled a new and bigger plan to restructure Tata Sons on Monday. Under this scheme, preparations are being made to protect the company from listing in the stock market and keep it completely private. This involves the merger of two operating companies with a holding company. This major proposal has been sent to the board of Tata Sons and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for approval. If this proposal is passed, Tata Sons will become a holding company as well as an operating company.
