Mehli Mistry seeks scrapping of VC position at Tata Trusts

Mehli Mistry, a trustee on the board of Tata Education and Development Trust (TEDT), has raised the issue of scrapping the post of vice-chairman across Tata Trusts, arguing that there is no provision for such a role in the Trust Deed, according to people familiar with the discussion.

The board of Tata Trusts met at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai, on Wednesday for a routine meeting.

At the TEDT meeting held earlier in the day, Mistry is learnt to have said the vice-chairman's position was created at a time when Ratan Tata was preoccupied with the legal fight with late Cyrus Mistry. With a chairman now firmly at the helm, the title had outlived its relevance and should be done away with, he said.

A highly placed official close to the matter, however, said Mistry has no say in the two principal trusts, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, that together hold a majority stake in Tata Sons.

"He raised the matter with TEDT and not the other trusts, so that view holds no relevance," the official said. "It is up to the chairman of Tata Trusts to take a view on the matter."

The trustees in Tata Education and Development Trust include chairman Noel Tata, Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan, Jehangir Mistry and Mehli Mistry.

Mehli Mistry is no longer a trustee on Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust as his reappointment was not approved by a majority of trustees on October 28 last year. He continues to hold board positions at TEDT, Tata Medical Centre in Kolkata, and Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital.

The conflict among the trustees has continued since the September 2025 controversy when a chain of events led to the exit of multiple trustees including Mehli Mistry amid sharp differences.

Tata Trusts did not comment.

In 2018, Tata Trusts had announced the appointment of former defence secretary Vijay Singh and TVS Motor chairman Venu Srinivasan as vice-chairmen of all the different trusts under its umbrella.

People cited above said Vijay Singh, who was appointed vice-chairman of some of the trusts in 2018, offered to drop the title, noting that it carried no special powers or privileges. Venu Srinivasan, however, indicated that the trusts would collectively take a view on the matter.

TEDT, which was set up about a decade ago, oversees an estimated corpus of around '5,000 crore and focuses on higher education, scholarships and capacity building.