Mehli Mistry raises fresh questions over Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan in Tata Trusts filings

In a rejoinder to submissions made by Tata Trusts before the Deputy Charity Commissioner in Mumbai, former trustee Mehli Mistry has questioned Noel Tata's citizenship and challenged the validity of a vote cast by Venu Srinivasan after his tenure as trustee had allegedly expired. The rejoinders, filed on Thursday and reviewed by Moneycontrol, allege that Tata Trusts selectively applied rules governing trustee eligibility and tenure while failing to address governance concerns raised by Mistry, whose reappointment was blocked in October 2025. The filings also question the engagement of Gerry McGovern, the British automotive designer and former Chief Creative Officer of Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover, by Norton Motorcycles, owned by TVS Motor Company.

Mistry has alleged that the engagement represented a direct conflict of interest involving Venu Srinivasan, chairman emeritus of TVS Motor Company and a Tata Trusts trustee. Mistry has also raised concerns over equity infusions into Tata International and alleged departures from earlier unanimous decisions of the trustees. He has argued that these matters warrant examination by the Charity Commissioner and that the trusts' responses have not specifically rebutted the allegations raised in his application. Mistry's challenge to Noel Tata's citizenship centres on the eligibility conditions prescribed under the 1923 trust deed of the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution.