Tata Trusts has received an extension from Charity Commissioner till October 19 to respond to the complaint filed by Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, sources told NDTV Profit on Tuesday.
As per the original timeline, Tata Trusts was to respond by October 12. The complaint made allegations about governance lapses at Sir Dorabjee Tata Trust, and alleged that the Trust has overstepped its role as a charitable trust in transactions involving Tata Sons.
Venu Srinivasan, a trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and a nominee director on the Tata Sons board, had asked the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner for an immediate inquiry into the trust's administration and governance towards the end of last month.
In a letter titled "Illegal and Irregular Appointment of Perpetual Trustee and Serious Governance Lapse", he said he is acting "with a view to preserving the institutional integrity and proper administration of SDTT". He has also sought a freeze on any change to the SDTT board while the inquiry is on.
Srinivasan alleged that SDTT's Circular Resolution No. 107, circulated on September 16, was "an extraordinary attempt to prevent me from exercising my independent judgement and vote". He says it was also meant "to neutralise my position as a Trustee because it differed from that of certain other Trustees".
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"More fundamentally, it was an attempt to effect a power grab within SDTT and, through it, to dictate what Tata Sons should do instead of allowing its Board to objectively evaluate the available alternatives on their merits," Srinivasan wrote.
He linked the circular to his exclusion in November 2025. "Viewed alongside my earlier exclusion in November 2025, it forms part of a continuing effort to suppress differing views and concentrate decision-making power within a smaller group of Trustees," the letter outlined.
Multiple trusts within the Tata Trusts group filed 84 caveats before Maharashtra's Charity Commissioner following this, according to sources aware of the filings, a move aimed at ensuring they are heard before any orders are passed in matters concerning the trusts.
The caveats were filed amid escalating governance disputes within the philanthropic conglomerate, which oversees the largest shareholder of Tata Sons Pvt., the holding company of the $400 billion Tata Group. Multiple trust-related matters are currently pending before the Charity Commissioner.
The filings name Noel Tata and Neville Tata among the caveators, highlighting the involvement of key members of the Tata family in the ongoing proceedings.
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