4 min readUpdated: Jul 22, 2026 04:19 AM IST
Vijay Singh, Vice Chairman of Tata Trusts, will continue to serve as a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and six other smaller trusts for at least another year, even though he has chosen not to seek another term on the board of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) after his current tenure ends on August 14.
Singh’s tenure as a trustee of the SDTT will continue until July 2027. He will also remain a trustee of six other smaller Tata trusts.
“My term in SRTT ends on August 14 and I will not put myself up for another term. That’s a decision I had taken earlier,” Singh said. In SDTT, Singh’s term is till next July and he will continue in SDTT and other small trusts for a year or so, he said.
Singh is a trustee of JRD Tata Trust, RD Tata Trust, Tata Education Trust, JRD and Thelma Trust, Tata Social Welfare Trust and Jamsetji Tata Trust.
As these trusts are affiliated to SDTT, Singh will continue as a trustee on their boards.
Noel N Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Darius Khambata, Neville N Tata and Bhaskar Bhat are on the boards of SDTT.
However, Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust and Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution are affiliated to SRTT.
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SRTT and SDTT are the two major trusts within the Tata Trusts umbrella.
SDTT, where Singh will continue as a trustee, holds a 27.98% stake in Tata Sons.
On the other hand, SRTT holds a lesser 23.5% stake in Tata Sons.
Tata Trusts holds 66% stake in Tata Sons, the principal holding company of the Tata group. Pallonji Mistry group holds 18.3% in Tata Sons.
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However, SRTT may be unable to exercise its voting rights at Tata Sons’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 18 unless it receives approval from the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, complicating decision-making at a crucial shareholder meeting.
The uncertainty is due to legal disputes involving Tata Trusts trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, former trustee Mehli Mistry, and questions surrounding the composition of SRTT’s board.
The Maharashtra Charity Commissioner is expected to hear Tata Trusts’ response to the various complaints before the AGM.
Shareholders are expected to vote on the reappointment of Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran as a director, as his current term expires this year.
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His tenure as executive chairman ends in February next year, and any decision on extending his term would require the backing of the Tata Trusts.
In May this year, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh were voted out of Tata Education and Development Trust, a comparatively smaller trust in the Tata Trusts group, as their reappointment as trustees were opposed by Mehli Mistry in the voting.
While Mistry voted against the reappointment of Srinivasan and Singh, Singh voted for reappointment of Srinivasan and the latter voted in favour of Singh. However, as the reappointment needs unanimous voting in favour of the candidates, the tenures of Singh and Srinivasan will not be extended as per the rules of the trust.
On May 15, Tata Trusts deferred indefinitely its much-awaited board meeting scheduled for May 16 following an order from the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra.
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Interestingly, the order made references to representation/complaint from Tata Sons Director and Tata Trusts Trustee Venu Srinivasan and Adv Katyayani Agrawal.
Earlier this year, Mehli Mistry, who stepped down from SRTT and SDTT, widened his challenge to the leadership and governance framework of the Tata Trusts, raising a series of concerns before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner that extend well beyond his own removal from the SRTT.
In filings submitted to the regulator, Mistry questioned trustee appointments, board-level decisions, remuneration arrangements, and governance practices across the Tata Trusts ecosystem.
The objections cover issues ranging from compensation and commissions received by certain trustees from Tata group companies to potential conflicts of interest arising from trustees simultaneously holding positions on the boards of group entities.
