A writ petition filed, before the Bombay High Court has accused the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) of violating the Maharashtra Public Trust (Second Amendment) Act, 2025, alleging that the Trust’s current board composition, with three out of six trustees holding life tenure, breaches the statutory cap introduced by the amendment.
The Trust’s board is reportedly scheduled to hold a board meeting on May 8, 2026. The petitioner contends that any resolutions or decisions passed at such a meeting would be legally vulnerable or liable to be set aside, causing irreparable harm to intended beneficiaries.
Petitioner Suresh Tulsiram Patilkhede filed the petition under Articles 14 and 226 of the Constitution of India, arguing that Section 30A(2) of the Maharashtra Public Trust Act, 1950, as introduced by the Second Amendment Act effective September 1, 2025, mandates that where a trust’s instrument does not expressly provide for perpetual trustees, the number of life trustees cannot exceed one-fourth of the total number of trustees at any point in time.
Currently, the SRTT has six trustees including Noel N. Tata (Chairman and Life Trustee), Jimmy N. Tata (Life Trustee), Jehangir H.C. Jehangir (Life Trustee), Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, and Darius Khambata, making three out of six life trustees, which the petitioner argues is double the permissible limit of one life trustee.
The Trust’s foundational instruments – the Will and Codicil, contain no provision for appointment of life or perpetual trustees, according to the petition. Despite this, the Trust began appointing life trustees as a matter of internal practice.
The petitioner, through advocate Rahul Agarwal, first wrote to Maharashtra Charity Commissioner on April 18, 2026, flagging the statutory violation. A follow-up letter was sent on April 30, 2026, but no response or inquiry was forthcoming from the Charity Commissioner.
The petitioner has, therefore, approached the court seeking a Writ of Mandamus directing the Charity Commissioner to ensure SRTT’s compliance with Section 30A(2) at the earliest, together with an ex-parte interim injunction restraining the Trust and its trustees from holding the board meeting scheduled on May 8, 2026 and from passing any resolutions with the current illegally constituted board, a declaration that all actions taken by the present board after September 1, 2025 are in violation of the statute and amount to a continuing illegality, breach of fiduciary duty and are liable to be set aside, and a further order directing the reconstitution of the board in conformity with the statutory mandate.
