Tata Trusts’ dispute may end soon:Tata Sons Tata Trusts will make board decisions together; proposal moved to make Mehli Mistry lifetime trustee

The ongoing dispute between Tata Trusts’ trustees appears to be ending. This dispute had arisen over transparency and sharing of information in the group. After Venu Srinivasan’s reappointment onto the board, his email communication with trustees clearly shows that consensus has been reached on these issues. Srinivasan wrote, “I hope we will work together in coordination.” In response, lifetime trustee nominee Mehli Mistry wrote, Our intention has always been to work in harmony. Agreement has been reached on sharing necessary information. Let’s end old matters and unite as per Ratan’s expectations. Proposal to make Mehli Mistry a lifetime trustee After making Venu Srinivasan a lifetime trustee in the trusts on 21 October, now Mehli Mistry’s name has been proposed. Mistry is among the four trustees who had alleged violations of rules in the Tata Sons board. Conflict of interest in Noel’s case escalated the dispute The conflict of interest fueled the controversy. Questions were raised about Noel Tata, who is both chairman of the trust and chairman of several Tata Group companies. A trustee said, ‘How can one vote on funding their own company while sitting on the board as an owner?’ Mehli Mistry’s logistics business with Tata Power is cited as a conflict of interest. After Ratan Tata’s death, it was Mistry who proposed making Noel the chairman. However, the issue of lack of transparency remained. This is the root of dispute in the ₹38 lakh crore corporate group Four trustees – Mehli Mistry, Darius Khambata, HC Jahangir and Pramit Jhaveri opposed Vijay Singh’s reappointment to the Tata Sons board on 11 September. The allegation was that Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh were violating Article 121A of TSPL, which mandates immediate disclosure of board decisions to the Trust. However, information was delayed in matters like Tata Motors’ Iveco acquisition (₹38,700 crore) and funding of ₹1,000 crore to Tata International. Dispute in Tata Group, government had to intervene After Ratan Tata’s death, his stepbrother Noel Tata was made chairman of Tata Trust in October 2024. In November 2024, Noel was also included in the Tata Sons board. However, several media reports claimed this decision was not unanimous within the Trust. This led to a direct split in the board seats of Tata Trusts which controls Tata Sons. One faction is with board member Noel Tata, while the other faction is with Mehli Mistry. Mistry has connections with the Shapoorji Pallonji family which holds an 18.37% stake in Tata Sons. Amid the dispute over Tata Sons’ board seat, senior leadership held a 45-minute meeting at Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence on 07 October 2025. According to a report, the government said that the domestic dispute should be resolved quickly so that it doesn’t affect the company. The meeting was attended by Home Minister Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata, Vice-Chairman Venu Srinivasan, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Trustee Darius Khambatta. Understand the entire Tata Group controversy in 5 points Angry Trustees Say – Board Making Decisions Without Debate According to a Money Control report, one major reason for the growing dispute between Tata Trusts’ trustees is also the ₹1,000 crore funding plan of Tata International Limited. Noel Tata has been running this company since 2010. Tata International Limited operates in 27 countries. Trustees Pramit Jhaveri, Mehli Mistry, Jehangir H.C. Jehangir and Darius Khambatta raised questions about how to push funding at the Tata Trust Board meeting on 11 September. The issue wasn’t whether TIL needed funds or not, but rather the dispute was about how the decision was made. The trustees feel that there should have been proper debate on such a large capital commitment. The trustees also mentioned Tata Motors’ acquisition of Iveco Group’s non-defense commercial vehicle business in July. They said that in that transaction too, they were informed only at a late stage. Tata Sons has 66% stake in Tata Group Tata Group was founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868. It is India’s largest multinational company, with 30 companies across 10 different businesses operating in more than 100 countries worldwide. Tata Sons is the principal investment holding and promoter of Tata companies. 66% of Tata Sons’ equity share capital is held by Tata’s charitable trusts, which work for education, health, arts culture and livelihood generation. In 2023-24, the total revenue of all Tata Group companies was ₹13.86 lakh crore. It employs more than 10 lakh people. Its products are used in day to day lives of citizens. The company provides everything from tea leaves to watches, cars and entertainment services. ​