Tata Trusts CEO defends position in trustee row

Tata Trusts chief executive officer (CEO) Siddharth Sharma on Tuesday defended his position on the controversy surrounding the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata trust, writing to all 12 members of Tata Trusts, after facing accusations that he had concealed a legal opinion on trusteeship.

- Varun Sood & Satish John

TVS chair emeritus Venu Srinivasan and former defence secretary Vijay Singh have accused Sharma of asking them to resign from the trust, an affiliate of the Tata philanthropic entities. Sharma’s alleged action came after Mehli Mistry, who was ousted from Tata Trusts last year, challenged their eligibility to be trustees, stating they are neither Zoroastrians nor do they live in Mumbai—conditions Mistry says are necessary to be a trustee. Srinivasan stepped down, while Singh didn’t. On Monday, both of them accused Sharma of bias, stating that while Sharma asked them to quit, he did not share with them a 26-year-old legal opinion rebutting the eligibility condition.