Mistry Brothers Oppose Reappointments of Srinivasan and Vijay Singh at TEDT

Tata Education and Development Trust Trustees' Reappointment Hits Roadblock

A proposal to reappoint Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh as trustees of the Tata Education and Development Trust (TEDT) has run into opposition. Two trustees, Mehli Mistry and J N Mistry, have voted against the move, according to people familiar with the matter.

Srinivasan and Singh, whose current terms are set to expire next Sunday, had sought renewal as trustees of TEDT. The trust had circulated a proposal seeking approval from all existing trustees for the reappointments, the people said. Moneycontrol had reported on Monday that TEDT had sent a circular to its trustees seeking approval for the reappointment of Srinivasan and Singh.

Srinivasan is currently the vice-chairman of Tata Trusts. It is not immediately clear whether he will continue in that role if he is no longer a trustee of TEDT, the people cited said.

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The Tata Education and Development Trust, while not a shareholder of Tata Sons, is among the more prominent trusts within the Tata Trusts network and is estimated to manage a corpus of over ₹5,000 crore. The trust focuses on education-led philanthropic initiatives, including scholarship programmes.

Under the trust's articles, such renewals require unanimous approval. With two trustees voting against the proposal, both Srinivasan and Singh are unlikely to secure another term, the people cited said. Srinivasan and Singh, meanwhile, voted in favour of each other's reappointment, the people added.

Mehli Mistry and J N Mistry are life trustees of TEDT. Noel N Tata, who is also a life trustee, has not voted so far, the people said.

The trust's current trustees include Noel N Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Mehli Mistry, and J N Mistry, among others.

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Internal Differences Escalate

The development marks a fresh escalation in the internal differences within Tata Trusts, which controls Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group. The development assumes significance ahead of the May 8 meeting of Tata Trusts, where a broader review of the Trusts' representation on the Tata Sons board is expected to be taken up.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that the possible nomination of Bhaskar Bhat, former managing director of Titan Company and a recent inductee to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, is under consideration, along with a potential recast of Trusts nominees on the Tata Sons board.

The reappointment process at TEDT had already faced uncertainty, with people familiar with the matter earlier indicating that it was not clear whether all trustees would back the renewals.

Emails sent to Tata Trusts did not elicit a response till the time of publication.