Former Tata Trusts trustee Mehli Mistry has challenged his removal from Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), arguing that Venu Srinivasan voted against his reappointment after Srinivasan’s own term as trustee had ended.
In a rejoinder before the Deputy Charity Commissioner, Greater Mumbai Region, on Thursday, Mistry has opposed the change report filed by SDTT to record his exit. He says the Trust’s own reply admits that Srinivasan was not a trustee when he cast his vote.
According to the rejoinder, Srinivasan’s tenure ended on October 23, 2025. The circular on Mistry’s reappointment was sent to him at 3:51 pm that day, a few hours before his term ran out. Srinivasan voted against the proposal on October 28, 2025. He was reappointed as a trustee only from November 12, 2025.
SDTT has said Srinivasan’s vote was not counted. A footnote in the circular states that the entry is to be disregarded because he was not entitled to vote. Mistry argues that striking out the vote later does not fix the problem. He says the decision was taken by a body that included a non-trustee, which makes the entire resolution void.
Mistry also relies on an October 17, 2024 resolution of the trustees, which provided that trustees would be reappointed without any limit on tenure. He says the resolution was applied to Noel Tata and Srinivasan but not to him.
Mistry has also turned the Trust’s own legal argument against it. SDTT has relied on Section 30A(1) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act to say Mistry stopped being a trustee automatically when his term expired on October 28, 2025. Mistry says the same provision barred Srinivasan from acting as a trustee once his term had ended.
The rejoinder further points out that Srinivasan’s exit and reappointment were reported to the Charity Commissioner together, only in January 2026. Mistry has asked SDTT to disclose every decision Srinivasan took part in between October 24 and November 11, 2025.
Mistry also relies on an October 17, 2024 resolution of the trustees, which provided that trustees would be reappointed without any limit on tenure. He says the resolution was applied to Noel Tata and Srinivasan but not to him. Mistry maintains he was removed for raising questions about commissions received by certain trustees from Tata Group companies.
In a separate application before the same authority, he has sought an inquiry into SDTT over these commissions and related-party matters.
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