The Board of Trustees of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in a meeting on Tuesday unanimously approved the addition of Bhaskar Bhat and Noel Tata’s son Neville Tata as trustees for three years with effect from November 12, 2025, a statement from Tata Trusts said.
The board also decided to appoint Venu Srinivasan as trustee for three years with effect from November 12 in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements and appoint him as vice-chairman of SDTT, the statement added.
Maharashtra’s rules
Srinivasan’s term was shortened to three years due to a recent amendment to the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act that limits the number of life trustees and imposes caps on their tenure. The regulation, issued Sept. 1, limits permanent trusts to a quarter of board size and requires fixed terms when trust deeds are tacit.
Neville Tata
“This has a direct impact on the internal governance autonomy of trusts, as appointments and reappointments are now subject to statutory restrictions rather than purely internal decisions.” said Akshat Khetan, Founder, AU Corporate Advisory and Legal Services.
New trustees
Neville, 33, who is already on the board of JRD Tata Trust, Tata Social Welfare Trust and RD Tata Trust, joined retailer Trent in 2016 and runs the popular Zudio format. His father Noel is Trent’s chairman.
Bhaskar Bhat.
Bhaskar Bhat, who was previously the managing director of Titan Company, is on the board of several companies such as Kansai Nerolac Paints and Lucas TVS. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and also holds a management diploma from IIM Ahmedabad. He started his career in 1978 with Godrej & Boyce.
Reappointment of Trustee
In October 2024, following the death of Ratan Tata, Tata Trusts passed a resolution requiring the reappointment of life trustees without term limits. Srinivasan’s reappointment was accepted unanimously and is considered lifelong, but the recent change in the state government’s rules of procedure changes this.
Lawyers said Noel Tata’s tenure as life trustee could be reviewed.
Gauri Jagtap, designated partner, King Stubb & Kasiva, Advocates and Attorneys, and Sonam Chandwani, managing partner, KS Legal & Associates, said Noel Tata’s appointment could be affected as the change “overrides any internal trust deed provisions granting such tenure”.
“As the trusts are registered in Maharashtra, this legal change applies to them too and lifetime appointments – even if previously decided by the trust – may now be subject to legal scrutiny or deemed non-compliant,” Jagtap said, adding that this may require the trust to rethink its governance structure and trustee tenure framework to avoid regulatory challenges.
The amendment, issued through an order on September 1, said: “It is noted that there is a lack of clarity in various trust instruments regarding the appointment of permanent or permanent trustees and tenure trustees and their tenure, resulting in several litigations before the Charity Commissioner and the Court. This affects the functioning of the trusts, the welfare of the beneficiaries and the public.”
The regulation only permits permanent trustees if the trust deed specifically provides for it, and appointments are only permitted for certain statutory vacancies such as death or incapacity.
Venu Srinivasan
Jagtap noted that the change does not prevent trusts from maintaining continuity or retaining influential leaders. “The board may continue to appoint trustees with fixed terms (e.g., terms renewable every few years, subject to board performance and approval).”
Reconstitution of the board of directors
Khetan said that following the change, trusts may have to reconstitute their boards, which would lead to a “possible review of previous lifetime appointments”, raising questions of retroactive applicability and trustees’ vested rights.
The trustees, which govern the charitable activities of the Tata group, were embroiled in a dispute over the reappointment of members and while Srinivasan’s reappointment was accepted unanimously, that of Mehli Mistry was rejected.
Published on November 11, 2025