Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata asked CEO Siddharth Sharma to request Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh to voluntarily step down from the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution. Srinivasan resigned, but Singh declined. The move comes amid a dispute over Zoroastrian trustee eligibility.
Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata last week instructed CEO Siddharth Sharma to ask Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan to voluntarily step down from the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (BHJTNCI), according to sources in the Tata group. They cited specific clauses in the Trust Deed that could allow challenges to the appointments of non-Zoroastrians.
Sharma discussed the matter with Noel Tata on April 2, 2026, and called Srinivasan that day, conveying the position along with a previous legal opinion. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor, resigned following the request, while Vijay Singh declined. Both were the only trustees not meeting the criteria of being Zoroastrians or residents of the Bombay Presidency or Navsari.
Former Chief Justice of India H.J. Kania had opined that there was no legal or doctrinal prohibition against inducting non-Zoroastrians. R.K. Krishnakumar was appointed as a trustee in 2000 on this basis during Ratan Tata's tenure. Tata Trusts maintains that Bai Hirabai specifically barred non-Zoroastrians and non-residents.
The issue escalated after former Sir Ratan Tata trustee Mehli Mistry challenged Srinivasan and Singh's appointments before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner. The Commissioner has written to Tata Trusts regarding Mistry's affidavit. Noel Tata and Sharma hold that a legal opinion cannot substitute for a judicial pronouncement.
