Big relief for Noel Tata: Venu Srinivasan's trusteeship in Tata Trusts' SRTT to end on December 11

Venu Srinivasan, vice chairman of Tata Trusts, will cease to be a trustee of Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), one of the two key Tata trusts, on December 11. His trusteeship renewal cannot be taken up because of the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner's blockade on board meetings, following a petition filed by Srinivasan himself, said sources in the know. More importantly, he is unlikely to secure a renewal even if the board convenes a meeting, as all the other trustees are expected to vote against it over his moves against Noel Tata and the complaints he has filed against Tata Trusts.

"After the end of Srinivasan’s tenure, he will cease to get communications from SRTT and be removed from its list of Trustees. His role will be reactivated only if he gets a renewal in the next board meeting," said a lawyer in the know.

Trustees cannot automatically continue in their full role after their fixed tenure expires because the board has failed to meet, unless the Trust Deed explicitly contains a "holdover" clause. "If the board fails to pass a renewal resolution before the term ends, the trusteeship automatically ceases upon the expiry date," said a lawyer.

The functioning of Tata Trusts has been in limbo following complaints over governance, appointments and other decisions by Srinivasan and fellow trustee Vijay Singh. Former trustee Mehli Mistry has also filed complaints against the functioning of the trusts. The dissent began to surface after Noel Tata took over as chairman of Tata Trusts.

Fortune India had earlier reported that a senior trustee wanted to become chairman of Tata Trusts before Noel Tata's appointment. Senior lawyer Darius Khambata said in his recent letter to Tata Trusts that there was pressure to defer Tata's appointment.

Srinivasan's opposition leaves SRTT's board facing a crucial succession decision

Srinivasan, who is also the Trusts' nominee on the Tata Sons board, has opposed Noel Tata's efforts to retain Tata Sons as a privately held holding company of the Tata Group. Srinivasan supported the listing of Tata Sons, a position that was not in line with the decisions of the key Tata Trusts boards or former chairman Ratan Tata. Later, Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran's reappointment for a third term became contentious, with Noel Tata opposing it while the other board members voted in favour.

Srinivasan's petition against SRTT has jeopardised the trust's functioning, prompting the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner to ban board meetings in mid-May. He argued that SRTT's board composition violated the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act because three of its then six members were perpetual trustees, far above the statutory limit of 25%.

Srinivasan and Singh accused SDTT of overstepping its philanthropic role by interfering in Tata Sons' commercial affairs. They also challenged Noel Tata's lifetime trusteeship and chairmanship, as well as his son Neville's induction onto the SDTT board.

Srinivasan's exit would be a relief for Noel Tata. To secure a renewal of his trusteeship, Srinivasan needs the support of all the other trustees, making the decision unanimous. In SRTT, Srinivasan remains the lone dissenting voice. The trust has five trustees, of whom Noel supporter Darius Khambata has decided not to seek an extension of his trusteeship. Noel also enjoys the support of Jehangir H.C. Jehangir. His half-brother Jimmy Tata is another trustee, though he rarely participates in key decisions.

In short, if SRTT convenes a meeting, its board will shrink to three following the rejection of renewal proposals. Once Srinivasan's tenure ends, Noel can bring more people onto the SRTT board without facing a dissenting vote.

However, Srinivasan will continue as a trustee of SDTT for another two years, while fellow trustee Vijay Singh's tenure will run until July 2027. SDTT has six trustees. There, Noel's support base has effectively narrowed to three, against two dissenters—Srinivasan and Singh—following Khambata's exit. The appointments of Neville Tata and Bhaskar Bhat in November 2025 helped Noel retain his majority and maintain control of the trust.

Both SDTT and SRTT must jointly nominate a person for the Tata Sons AGM to complete the quorum. The AGM is significant because Chandrasekaran's directorship renewal will come up for consideration there. The vote of the Trusts' nominee, representing their 66% stake in Tata Sons, will be crucial to Chandrasekaran's reappointment.