Seven Tata Trusts file slew of caveats with Maharashtra Charity Chief

Mumbai: Seven Tata Trusts, excluding the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), have filed 84 caveats before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner under three provisions of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act - Sections 41D, 41E and 67 - in a move aimed at ensuring they are heard before any orders are passed in matters concerning the trusts, people familiar with the development said.

Noel and Neville Tata have been named as caveators in the filings, the people said.

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The Tata Trusts did not comment.

People familiar with the matter said the caveats were filed as a preventive measure amid an escalating governance dispute within the SDTT. The sheer number of filings is because many individual accusations have been made against Noel Tata as chairman of Tata Trusts, as well as Neville Tata, they added.

Several Trustee Concerns

The move assumes significance as the charity commissioner has already placed restrictions on the functioning of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), and the trust is currently unable to hold meetings until the restraint is lifted, they said.

The filings come against the backdrop of concerns raised by SDTT trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh over Noel Tata's role and authority within the trust structure.

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Srinivasan has sought scrutiny of Noel Tata's appointment and continuing position as a perpetual trustee, besides questioning the basis on which he assumed and continues to hold the chairmanship of Tata Trusts, according to people familiar with the matter.

He has also sought restrictions on Noel Tata's participation and voting in SDTT decisions relating to the appointment or instructions of Tata Sons nominees, representatives or proxies.

The complaint further seeks to restrict Noel from exercising voting rights on behalf of SDTT or other shareholder trusts at Tata Sons general meetings and from participating in or voting on certain matters concerning the Tata Sons board under Article 121 of the company's Articles of Association, the people said.

Srinivasan has also questioned the appointment of Noel's son, Neville Tata, as a trustee.

More broadly, the concerns raised by the trustees relate to what they allege is a concentration of decision-making within a smaller group of trustees and attempts to constrain trustees from exercising independent judgement.

Noel Tata is chairman of the Tata Trusts, which holds a 66% stake in group holding company Tata Sons. Of this, SDTT and SRTT jointly hold a majority 51.54% stake in Tata Sons.

Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have separately questioned the manner in which the Tata Trusts have intervened in Tata Sons' strategic and commercial affairs, including the position taken by the trusts on a proposed restructuring as an alternative to a listing of Tata Sons, according to people familiar with the matter.

The latest filings are significant because they require the authority to hear the caveator before passing an order in the matter for which the caveat has been lodged.

The development comes at a time when the charity commissioner's scrutiny of governance and decision-making within the Tata charitable trusts has intensified, with competing positions emerging among trustees over the administration of the trusts and their role as shareholders of Tata Sons.

The seven trusts under the umbrella Tata Trusts are SDTT, which holds a 27.98% stake in Tata Sons, followed by SRTT (23.56%), JRD Tata Trust (4.01%), Tata Social Welfare Trust (3.73%), RD Tata Trust (2.19%), Tata Education and Development Trust (3.73%) and Sarvajanik Seva Trust (0.10%).