Petitioner Withdraws Bombay High Court Plea for Stay on Tata Trusts Board Meetings Scheduled for May 16

Bombay High Court Receives Withdrawn Petition Regarding Tata Trusts Meeting

A writ petition filed in the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on the May 16 board meetings of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust has been withdrawn by the petitioner, Sunil Tulsiram Patilkhede, on May 13.

The petition had sought an interim injunction, restraining the trusts from holding the meetings and passing resolutions until the boards were reconstituted in line with provisions of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950. The meetings of the trusts, originally scheduled for May 8, were subsequently postponed to May 16.

A two-judge high court bench noted that the petitioner was not the original complainant in the underlying case before the Maharashtra charity commissioner and the plea also did not mention who the original complainant was. The court expressed its displeasure over the manner in which the plea was filed, after which the petitioner sought its permission to withdraw the plea.

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The petition had sought an early hearing on grounds of "extreme urgency" as the Trusts are scheduled to meet on May 16. Resolutions passed on May 16 should not be acted upon, the plea said. The development brings a temporary closure to a legal challenge that had emerged around the governance structure and trustee composition of the Tata Trusts ecosystem ahead of crucial discussions related to Tata Sons board representation.

The Bombay High Court had last week declined an urgent hearing on a plea seeking to block the May 8 meeting. During the earlier hearing, the court said the petitioner could approach the vacation bench for further relief. Lawyers representing Tata Trusts had also filed a caveat to ensure that no interim order was passed without hearing the trusts.

The petition was significant because the May 8 meetings of the Tata Trusts were expected to deliberate on changes to the Tata Sons board. Moneycontrol reported that resolutions concerning the removal of TVS Group chairman Venu Srinivasan from the Tata Sons board and the possible induction of Tata group veteran Bhaskar Bhat were likely to be discussed. The agenda of the May 16 meeting may be along similar lines.

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The legal challenge was linked to allegations regarding compliance with Section 30A(2) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act. In her representation, advocate Katyayani Agrawal, representing the petitioner, had alleged that three out of six trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust — Jimmy Tata, J N Mistry, and Noel N Tata — were functioning as perpetual or lifetime trustees, constituting 50 percent of the board, against the statutory limit of 25 percent.

The petitioner had also sought directions declaring decisions taken after September 2025 invalid unless the boards were reconstituted in accordance with the law.