Tata Trusts Vice Chairman Vijay Singh will step down as trustee of Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) on August 14. His current tenure is ending on that day. He was associated with the Trust for a long time. This news has come at a time when trusts are facing internal differences and regulatory scrutiny. 78-year-old Vijay Singh said in the ET report that he has decided not to seek the next term.
He said that after the demise of Ratan Tata, the changed atmosphere in the Trust has created concern and has raised doubts about the future. I do not want to continue in SRTT beyond my current tenure and would not like to be re-appointed in any other Trust after the current tenure. However, Singh will remain the trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust for another year. His decision has come after several such incidents which have revealed differences within Tata Trusts. Tata Trusts owns 66 percent of the holding company Tata Sons.
Resigned from TEDT in May
In May, Singh and fellow vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan resigned from the Tata Education and Development Trust (TEDT) after trustee Mehli Mistry opposed their reappointment. Mistry had challenged the eligibility of Singh and Srinivasan as trustees of ‘Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution’.
He had argued that he did not fulfill the conditions of the Trust Deed of 1923, which required the trustee to be a Parsi Zoroastrian and a permanent resident of Mumbai. People with knowledge of the matter said that due to Singh’s previous public comments in favor of the possible listing of Tata Sons, the chances of him getting unanimous support from fellow trustees for the next term at SRTT were also slim.
His step has been taken at a time when Sir Ratan is not able to hold Tata Trust Board meetings. The Maharashtra Charity Commissioner has barred the trust from holding meetings till a decision is taken on the complaint on appointment of permanent trustees and other related issues. The SRTT board includes Chairman Noel N Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Jimmy N Tata, Jahangir HC Jahangir and Darius Khambatta.
Singh’s stand on Tata Sons is different
Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust together hold the majority stake in Tata Sons. In May, the trusts were to review their representation on the Tata Sons board, including the appointment of nominee directors, but those meetings were postponed amid the ongoing legal proceedings. The agenda was also expected to include a discussion on the public comments of Singh and Srinivasan on the potential benefits of listing Tata Sons.
His views were seen as different from the current stance of the trusts led by Chairman Noel Tata, which is in favor of keeping Tata Sons a private company. Last year, Singh was not re-appointed to the board of Tata Sons. People with knowledge of the matter said the trusts wanted to ensure that their nominees to the Tata Sons board would advance the institution’s stance on key governance issues, including the company’s ownership structure.
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