In a major internal development at Tata Trusts, trustee Mehli Mistry is set to step down from the boards of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) after key members declined to support his reappointment.
According to a report by The Economic Times, at least three trustees — Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, and Vijay Singh — voted against Mistry’s reappointment, while Jehangir H.C. Jehangir and Darius Khambata backed his continuation. Under the Trusts’ governance rules, a trustee’s reappointment requires unanimous consent, meaning even one dissenting vote blocks renewal.
Mistry’s three-year term officially ends on October 28, and a resolution to extend it circulated earlier this month failed to secure full approval, effectively ending his tenure.
Background and Governance Shifts
Mehli Mistry, a long-time associate of Ratan Tata, was inducted into the Tata Trusts board in 2022 as part of a leadership overhaul. His exit marks the second instance in recent months where the Trusts have moved away from their long-standing tradition of consensus-based decisions. Earlier in September, the board voted — by majority — to withdraw former defence secretary Vijay Singh’s nomination from the Tata Sons board.
Together, the Tata Trusts control around 66% of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, with SDTT and SRTT jointly managing about 51% of that stake.
Who is Mehli Mistry?
Mehli Mistry leads the M Pallonji Group and is a cousin of Shapoorji Pallonji Group promoters — Shapoor Mistry and the late Cyrus Mistry. The SP Group, which holds an 18.37% stake in Tata Sons, has been locked in a long-running legal and financial dispute with the Tata Trusts over valuation and governance issues.
In September, Mistry made headlines when he opposed the reappointment of Vijay Singh to the Tata Sons board — a move that exposed rare public divisions within the Trusts’ leadership.
As of now, Tata Trusts has not issued an official statement regarding Mistry’s exit.
