Tata Trust says Bai Hirabai Trust to amend restrictive clauses that allowed only Zoroastrians to be trustees

The Bai Hirabai Trust, after a meeting conducted under the chairmanship of Noel Tata on April 17, has decided to move to amend the deed that restricted Non-Zororatrians from becoming trustees.

Bai Hirabai Trust To Remove Restrictive Clause 

As affairs at Tata Trust acquired a more tumultuous shape after TVS's Venu Srinivasan departed from Bai Hirabai Trust, the trust has now issued a statement, signalling a major change.

In a statement, Tata Trusts said that the Board of Trustees of the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, known as the Bai Hirabai Trust, met on 17th April, 2026, under the Chairmanship of Noel N. Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts.

The Bai Hirabai Trust was created under the 1916 Codicil to the Will of Sir Ratan Tata, who died in 1918. The Codicil did not provide for any restrictions in respect of Trustees on grounds of ethnicity, race or religion. The Codicil further provided that the Trustees of the Will of Sir Ratan Tata, who were also Trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) - a Trust created by his Will - would also be Trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust.

In the year 2015, the objects of the Bai Hirabai Trust were enlarged to also cover the general public as beneficiaries of the activities of the Trust. There are no such restrictions as to qualifications for Trusteeship of SRTT, nor of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), nor of any other Tata Trust.

Amending 1923 Deed 

Nonetheless, it is a fact that the Trust Deed made in 1923 by the then Trustees contained restrictive clauses that, amongst other things, prohibited non-Zoroastrians from being Trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust. These provisions imposed restrictions not provided for by Sir Ratan Tata’s Codicil.

The statement noted that non-Zoroastrians have been continuously appointed to the Trust since the year 2000, following a legal opinion obtained from a former Chief Justice of India. The Trustees noted that Bai Hirabai is a non-shareholding trust with a minimal asset base and limited activities

As a result of this, to 'correct the anomalies', the board has decided to adopt proceedings before the appropriate authority for the alteration of restrictive clauses in respect of the eligibility of Trustees.

This comes after a dispute within the Trust rose, with former trustee Mehli Mistry challenging the eligibility of Venu Srinivasan and fellow trustee Vijay Singh over the Parsi Zoroastrian faith and the fact that both did not have permanent residence in Mumbai.

Also Read: Venu Srinivasan resigns from Bai Hirabai Charitable Trust, sources say