Mehli Mistry tells Tata Trusts he doesn't want to challenge ouster

Mistry, who ceased being a trustee on 28 October, wrote to the remaining six trustees that according to Ratan Tata, nobody was bigger than the institution he served. "I have served RNT’s vision, including the responsibility to ensure that the Tata Trusts are not plunged into controversies and precipitate matters that would be irreparable harm to the reputation of the Tata Trusts," Mistry wrote, according to an executive aware of the communication.

Mistry's decision marks a closure to the brief episode that began when Tata Trusts chair Noel Tata and trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh opposed his appointment as a permanent trustee last week. That came after Mistry, along with trustees Pramit Jhaveri, Darius Khambata and Jehangir H.C. Jehangir voted earlier to remove Vijay Singh from the board of Tata Sons. Tata Trusts is the majority owner of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $300 billion Tata empire.

In his letter, Mistry invoked the spirit of Tata "who always placed the public interest before his own", and hoped that the trustees' future actions will be guided by transparency, good governance and public interest, the executive said on the condition of anonymity.

Mistry returned to Mumbai from Dubai on Tuesday, and immediately closeted himself with his family members and close associates, the executive cited earlier said. “His family is against the stress of his taking this fight," the executive said.

Mistry, a Mumbai-based businessman and confidant of the late tycoon, was an executor of the late industrialist's will, and also a beneficiary.

The induction of new members at Tata Trusts is likely, and possibly, a few of the trustees could leave after completing their tenure, a second executive said.

After the death of Tata on 9 October, 2024, the Tata Trusts entrusted Noel to lead the philanthropic entities. On 17 October last year, the trustees unanimously decided that they would be appointed as permanent trustees upon completion of their current tenure.

Emails and text messages sent to Mistry seeking comment went unanswered.

Six trustees man Tata Trusts. Besides chair Noel and TVS Motor Co. chair emeritus Venu Srinivasan and retired defence secretary Vijay Singh, the others include former Citibank India CEO Pramit Jhaveri, Mumbai lawyer Darius Khambata, and Pune-based philanthropist and businessman Jehangir H.C. Jehangir.

This decision to remove Mistry surprised the Parsi community, as well as Ratan Tata’s two half-sisters, Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy, who, in their first media interview with Mint, said they were distressed over the turmoil at Tata Trusts, describing last week's removal of Mistry as a retaliatory action by other trustees.