{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-15/bai-hirabai-trust-noel-tata-trustee","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-15/bai-hirabai-trust-noel-tata-trustee.md","title":"Tata Trusts' Bai Hirabai Trust Moves to Name Noel Tata Trustee","headline":"Bai Hirabai Tata Trust Seeks Noel Tata as Reporting Trustee After Vijay Singh's Term Ends","description":"Bai Hirabai Tata Trust has asked the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner to replace Vijay Singh with Noel Tata as reporting trustee.","section":"Leadership","published_at":"2026-10-15T08:52:11+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-15T08:52:11+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Bai Hirabai Tata Trust filed a substitution application to make Noel Tata its reporting trustee in place of Vijay Singh, whose term expired on Aug. 14.","Tata Trusts filed replies to complaints against Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Bai Hirabai Tata Trust, and the Charity Commissioner will hear the matter in the first week of November.","Mehli Mistry, who challenged Vijay Singh's eligibility, was granted until November 5, 2026, to file a rejoinder."],"companies":[{"name":"Tata Trusts","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00036je/tata-trusts","website":"https://www.tatatrusts.org"},{"name":"Sir Dorabji Tata Trust","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/004agr7/sir-dorabji-tata-trust","website":"https://dorabjitatatrust.org"}],"source":{"publisher":"NDTV Profit","title":"Bai Hirabai Tata Trust Seeks To Replace Vijay Singh With Noel Tata As Reporting Trustee","url":"https://www.ndtvprofit.com/business/bai-hirabai-tata-trust-seeks-to-replace-vijay-singh-with-noel-tata-as-reporting-trustee-12188671"},"other_sources":[{"publisher":"ET NOW","url":"https://www.etnownews.com/news/tata-trusts-row-noel-tata-replaces-vijay-singh-as-bai-hirabai-trust-trustee-mehli-mistry-gets-november-5-deadline-article-156344247"}],"tags":["Leadership","Tata Trusts","Sir Dorabji Tata Trust"],"body_markdown":"Bai Hirabai Tata Trust has filed a substitution application before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner seeking to change its reporting trustee from Vijay Singh to Noel Tata, [NDTV Profit](https://www.ndtvprofit.com/business/bai-hirabai-tata-trust-seeks-to-replace-vijay-singh-with-noel-tata-as-reporting-trustee-12188671) reported on October 15. Singh's term as trustee expired on August 14. Noel Tata is chairman of [Tata Trusts](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00036je/tata-trusts), and Vijay Singh is a vice chairman of Tata Trusts.\n\n## The Substitution Filing and the Trustee Dispute\n\nTata Trusts has separately filed its replies to the complaints against [Sir Dorabji Tata Trust](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/004agr7/sir-dorabji-tata-trust) and Bai Hirabai Tata Trust, according to NDTV Profit. Complainant Mehli Mistry has sought time to respond to those replies, and the Charity Commissioner will hear the matter next in the first week of November.\n\n[ET NOW](https://www.etnownews.com/news/tata-trusts-row-noel-tata-replaces-vijay-singh-as-bai-hirabai-trust-trustee-mehli-mistry-gets-november-5-deadline-article-156344247) reported that Noel Tata replaced Vijay Singh as trustee of the Bai Hirabai Trust under a Maharashtra Charity Commissioner filing, and that Mehli Mistry, who challenged Singh's eligibility, was granted until November 5, 2026, to file a rejoinder. The change does not settle Mistry's allegations, ET NOW reported.\n\nThe filings follow the Charity Commissioner's extension of Tata Trusts' deadline to respond to a complaint by Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, moved from October 12 to October 19, NDTV Profit reported. That complaint alleged governance lapses at SDTT and said the trust had overstepped its role as a charitable trust in transactions involving Tata Sons. Srinivasan, a trustee of SDTT and a nominee director on the Tata Sons board, asked the Charity Commissioner to order an immediate inquiry into the trust's administration and governance and to freeze any change to the SDTT board while the inquiry is pending. In his letter, he said SDTT's Circular Resolution No. 107, circulated on September 16, was an attempt to stop him from exercising his independent judgement and vote, calling it \"a power grab within SDTT\" aimed at dictating what Tata Sons should do. He linked the circular to his exclusion in November 2025.\n\n## What the Tata Trusts Records Show\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Tata Trusts controls 66% of Tata Sons through collective trust holdings and was established in 1892, making it India's oldest major philanthropic institution. The same records list Noel N. Tata as chairman of Tata Trusts, with Siddharth Sharma as chief executive and Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh as vice chairmen. In May 2026, chairman Noel Tata voted against the reappointment of vice chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh as trustees of Tata Education and Development Trust, a 3-1 vote recorded as the first public internal rupture.\n\n## Earlier Steps in the Tata Trusts Dispute\n\nOn September 30, 2026, Venu Srinivasan backed the reappointment of Tata Trusts chairman N Chandrasekaran for a third five-year term and supported the listing process, while Noel Tata opposed both positions, Deccan Herald reported. On October 5, 2026, Analytics Insight reported that Tata Sons' board voted to proceed with a listing, supported by directors including Venu Srinivasan, while Noel Tata opposed it, and that the RBI classified Tata Sons as an upper-layer NBFC. On October 6, 2026, NZZ reported that Tata's board voted 4-1 to extend CEO Natarajan Chandrasekaran's term and proceed with an IPO despite opposition from Noel Tata.\n\n## November Hearings Before the Charity Commissioner\n\nThe Charity Commissioner will hear the matter next in the first week of November, NDTV Profit reported. ET NOW reported that Mehli Mistry was granted until November 5, 2026, to file a rejoinder.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}