Sir Ratan Tata Trust, one of the most prestigious and largest charitable organizations of the country, is facing a major internal controversy these days. The tussle within the trust had started after the death of veteran industrialist Ratan Tata. Industrialist Mehli Mistry had opened a direct front against his removal from the Trust. Now he has filed a petition with the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra, raising serious questions about the functioning of the Trust, lack of transparency in decisions and possible 'conflict of interest' worth crores of rupees.
The real root of the controversy is the non-extension of Mehli Mistry's tenure. In his petition filed on June 4, Mistry has clearly stated that the decision to remove him from the post is completely arbitrary. According to him, on October 17, 2024, all the trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust together passed an important resolution. The main objective of this proposal was to maintain stability in the institution after the departure of Ratan Tata and to re-appoint the existing trustees. Mistry claims that this unanimous decision in his case was set aside, which is a direct violation of the basic spirit of that resolution.
The matter is not limited to snatching just one post. Mistry has made some major revelations in his detailed objection under Section 22 of the Maharashtra Public Trust Act. He has targeted Venu Srinivasan, another important member of the trust. The petition has alleged that Srinivasan has received payments and commission of more than Rs 20 crore in the last few years from group companies like Tata Sons, Tata Advanced Systems, Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures and Tata Sikorsky Aerospace. Mistry argues that the work of a charitable trust is only to work in the public interest. In such a situation, taking huge financial benefits from the group companies while working as a trustee is a direct case of 'conflict of interest', which should be investigated closely.
From the perspective of a common citizen, Tata Trusts has been another name of trust for decades. But this petition has raised deep concerns over the administrative procedures of the institution. Mehli Mistry says that decisions affecting many important institutions related to the trust have been taken without adequate consultation and transparency. He believes that when a person sits on the board of big commercial companies as a nominated representative of a charitable trust, it is very important to have a strict review of the financial benefits taken by him so that both the dignity and rules of the institution are protected.
After all these serious allegations, Mehli Mistry has requested the Charity Commissioner to immediately intervene in this whole matter. Their biggest demand is that until a permanent solution to all these administrative and financial concerns is found, an independent administrator should be appointed to look after the functioning of the trust. Along with this, he has appealed to investigate all those decisions and appointments which have been taken after the death of Ratan Tata.
