Venu Srinivasan Resigns From Bai Hirabai Charitable Trust Amid Row Over Eligibility

Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor and Vice Chairman of seven Tata Group trusts, stepped down from the Bai Hirabai Charitable Trust on Saturday, citing his preoccupation with other business commitments.

The resignation comes against the backdrop of a legal challenge mounted by former trustee Mehli Mistry, who has questioned the eligibility of Srinivasan and fellow trustee Vijay Singh to serve on the trust’s board.

Mistry has reportedly filed an objection application with the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, contending that neither Srinivasan nor Singh ever met the qualifications required for appointment and are therefore expressly disqualified under the Trust Deed.

According to reports, Mistry’s application invokes Clauses 6 and 18 of the Deed, under which any disqualified trustee must be treated as “deemed dead.”

Mistry’s core argument is that both Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have never been of the Parsi Zoroastrian faith and do not hold permanent residence in Mumbai — two conditions he says are mandatory for trusteeship. On that basis, he has sought a suo motu inquiry by the State Charity Commissioner and called on the authority to direct all trustees to file affidavits confirming their eligibility.

The trust at the centre of the dispute — the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (BHJTNCI) — was established in 1923. According to the Tata Trusts website, it is a philanthropic institution focused on Parsi and community welfare in Navsari, Gujarat, with a mandate spanning education and healthcare. It forms part of the allied Tata Trusts and shares a common Board of Trustees with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

This is not the first time Mistry has raised governance objections within the Tata Trusts ecosystem. In February 2026, while serving as a trustee on the board of the Tata Education and Development Trust (TEDT), he flagged concerns over a separate matter — the proposed scrapping of the Vice-Chairman position across Tata Trusts — arguing that the Trust Deed contains no provision for such a role.

Srinivasan’s exit from the Bai Hirabai Charitable Trust now adds a fresh dimension to the ongoing internal tensions within the Tata Trusts structure.