Mehli Mistry, a long-time confidant of the late Ratan Tata, is set to step down from the boards of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust after a majority of trustees voted against his reappointment.
According to reports, three of the six trustees opposed Mistry’s continuation in a circular resolution circulated last week. Those who voted against him include Chairman Noel Tata, TVS Group Chairman Venu Srinivasan, and former Defence Secretary Vijay Singh.
At the Dorabji Tata Trust, Darius Khambata and Prameet Jhaveri supported Mistry’s reappointment. At the Ratan Tata Trust, Khambata and Jehangir H. Jehangir backed him. However, the majority vote sealed his exit.
A Trusted Aide of Ratan Tata
Mistry, 65, joined both trusts in 2022 and was known for his close working relationship with Ratan Tata. The two trusts together control a 51% stake in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, giving them major influence through veto rights and board nominations.
His removal marks another turning point in the post-Ratan Tata era, exposing growing divisions within the trusts. Reports say tensions rose after Mistry’s camp opposed the reappointment of Vijay Singh as Tata Sons’ nominee director, splitting the board.
The Tata Trusts have not yet issued an official statement.
Links to the Shapoorji Pallonji Family
Mistry is distantly related to the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) family, which has been locked in a long corporate feud with the Tata Group since Cyrus Mistry’s ouster as Tata Sons chairman in 2016. Despite family ties, Mehli Mistry is said to have kept a professional distance from the SP Group.
The disagreement also highlights a larger debate over trustee renewal rules. Venu Srinivasan received unanimous approval for his reappointment, with Mistry himself supporting it — but reportedly on the condition that all trustees should be renewed in turn.
Sources say Mistry’s supporters believe that once a trustee is renewed once, they automatically become a “life trustee.” However, Noel Tata’s faction argues that each renewal must be approved separately.
After Ratan Tata’s death last year, the board passed a resolution allowing trustees to become life members after one renewal term. But legal experts advising the Trusts remain split on whether this resolution ensures automatic lifetime status or requires board approval each time.
End of an Era
Mistry’s exit appears final. The opposition from three trustees, Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, and Vijay Singh, forms a majority against his continuation at both trusts.
The timing also carries symbolism: Mistry’s removal came in October, the same month his cousin Cyrus Mistry was ousted as Tata Sons chairman in 2016. Tata Trusts CEO Siddharth Sharma had proposed Mistry’s three-year renewal last week, but lack of unanimous support decided the outcome.
Traditionally, decisions at the Tata Trusts required unanimity. But that convention broke down in September this year, when trustees used majority voting to remove Vijay Singh from the Tata Sons board, a move that signaled a new era of internal contention.
Mistry heads the M Pallonji Group, which operates in industrial painting, shipping, dredging, and automobile dealerships. His company Sterling Motors runs a Tata Motors dealership, and his group lists Tata Steel, Tata Power, and Tata Nyk Shipping among its key clients.
As a trustee of Breach Candy Hospital Trust, he also oversees an institution that received ₹500 crore from the Tata Group for expansion.
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