Tata Trusts has announced plans to amend the restrictive clauses in the Bai Hirabai Trust deed, specifically those prohibiting non-Zoroastrians from becoming trustees, following a recent challenge by a former trustee regarding appointments.
IMAGE: Head office of the Tata group in Mumbai. Image used for representative purpose only. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
Key Points
- The Bai Hirabai Trust’s trustees will seek to alter restrictive clauses, including the prohibition of non-Zoroastrians as trustees, to align with Tata Trusts’ inclusive values.
- This move follows a complaint by former trustee Mehli Mistry challenging the appointments of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, alleging they did not meet the original Parsi Zoroastrian and residency criteria.
- Venu Srinivasan, a Tata Trusts trustee, had previously resigned from the Bai Hirabai Trust, later admitting it was at the request of Tata Trusts management.
- Tata Trusts asserts that non-Zoroastrians have been appointed to the trust since 2000, based on a legal opinion, and that the original 1916 Codicil of Sir Ratan Tata’s will did not impose such restrictions.
- The restrictive clauses were introduced in the 1923 Trust Deed, not by Sir Ratan Tata’s Codicil, and the trust’s objects were expanded in 2015 to include the general public as beneficiaries.
Tata Trusts on Sunday said trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust have decided to adopt proceedings before an appropriate authority for alteration of restrictive clauses, such as prohibition of non-Zoroastrians from being trustees, in the eligibility criteria of being a trustee in it.
The development comes days after Mehli Mistry, a former trustee of the Tata Trusts, challenged the appointments of veteran industrialist Venu Srinivasan and former defence secretary Vijay Singh to the board of Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (Bai Hirabai Trust) in a complaint to the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner.
Mistry had claimed that Srinivasan and Singh do not satisfy the criteria laid out in the trust deed, including the specific conditions including practice of the Parsi Zoroastrian faith and residency requirements in Mumbai.
Background to the Dispute
Earlier this month, Srinivasan, a trustee of Tata Trusts, resigned from the Bai Hirabai Trust citing other business commitments but later admitted to stepping down at the request of Tata Trusts management.
In a statement, Tata Trusts said the Board of Trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust met on April 17, 2026 under the Chairmanship of Noel N Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts.
The trustees reviewed the activities of the Bai Hirabai Trust and deliberated on the recent statements appearing in sections of the press relating to the trust.
“In order to correct anomalies in the Trust Deed and to align it with the values that the Tata Trusts have always epitomised, the trustees have decided to adopt proceedings before the appropriate authority for alteration of restrictive clauses in respect of eligibility of trustees,” the statement said.
In the meeting, the trustees were categorical in emphasising that the Tata ethos have always been inclusive, secular and all-encompassing and focussed on philanthropy and service to the nation, it added.
Historical Context and Legal Opinion
“Non- Zoroastrians have been continuously appointed to the trust since the year 2000, following a legal opinion obtained from a former Chief Justice of India.
“The trustees noted that Bai Hirabai is a non-shareholding trust with a minimal asset base and limited activities,” Tata Trusts said.
When reached out for comments, Mehli Mistry declined to comment.
However, people close to him said the mere fact that trustees of Bai Hirabai Trust are deciding for alteration of the “restrictive clauses” is an acknowledgement of what the trust deed currently says.
While it will be for the appropriate authority to decide, they said it remains to be seen how the trustees of Bai Hirabai Trust could challenge a will after 103 years.
They asserted that under the current circumstances, non-Zoroastrians are prohibited from being trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust and having them as trustee “is illegal till the amendment is passed”.
In its statement, Tata Trusts noted that Bai Hirabai Trust was created under the 1916 Codicil to the will of Sir Ratan Tata who died in 1918.
The Codicil did not provide for any restrictions in respect of trustees on grounds of ethnicity, race or religion.
The Codicil further provided that the trustees of the will of Sir Ratan Tata, who were also trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) – a trust created by his will – would also be trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust, it added.
In 2015, the objects of the Bai Hirabai Trust were enlarged to also cover the general public as beneficiaries of the activities of the trust, the statement said.
“There are no such restrictions as to qualifications for trusteeship of SRTT nor of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) nor of any other Tata Trust,” it asserted.
Nonetheless, Tata Trusts said,”It is a fact that the Trust Deed made in 1923 by the then trustees, contained restrictive clauses that, amongst other things, prohibited non-Zoroastrians from being trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust.
These provisions imposed restrictions not provided for by Sir Ratan Tata’s Codicil.”
Tata Trusts also said the trustees reiterated their full faith and confidence in its chief executive officer Siddharth Sharma and his administrative stewardship of the Tata Trusts.
Sharma had come under spotlight as media reports stated that he had asked Srinivasan and Singh to step down from the board of Bai Hirabai Trust at Noel Tata’s behest following objections raised by Mehli Mistry.
