MUMBAI: Mehli Mistry has accused Tata Trusts leadership of running an “illegal” board by selectively applying rules to secure their own lifetime trusteeships while removing him. He has accused them of counting votes of trustees whose tenures had expired and violating statutory provisions for appointments and terms.Mistry, who was a trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, has called for an independent administrator to replace the board.He alleged Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh received financial and personal benefits from Tata companies connected to the trusts.In filings before the charity commissioner on Wednesday, Mistry said chairman Noel Tata, along with Srinivasan and Singh, breached a unanimously approved Oct 2024 resolution allowing perpetual trusteeships by opposing his reappointment, removing him from both trusts despite Noel and Srinivasan having benefited from the same arrangement.He argued that Srinivasan was not a valid SDTT trustee during the vote for his reappointment, rendering the proceedings void, and that the trust failed to file mandatory disclosures with the commissioner regarding changes to board composition.He also challenged the legality of Noel’s reappointment as a life trustee in Jan 2025, claiming it became invalid due to failure to file a mandatory change report within the prescribed 90 days.On Srinivasan, Mistry further said his reappointment as a life trustee in Oct 2025 breached Maharashtra’s newly introduced laws on perpetual trustees and was therefore void. The Sept 2025 amended Maharashtra Public Trusts Act states that where a trust’s founding document is silent on perpetual trustees, number of lifetime trustees should be capped at one-quarter of the total board. Mistry argued that since the March 11, 1932 deed of SDTT made no provision for perpetual trustees, reappointment of Noel as a life trustee had already exhausted that statutory quota, making Srinivasan’s Oct 2025 lifetime reappointment illegal.Mistry contended that his own removal in Oct 2025 was invalid because it relied on votes from an unlawfully constituted board, including participation by Srinivasan when he had ceased to be a trustee.On Nov 11, 2025, SDTT removed Srinivasan as a perpetual trustee and reappointed him for a three-year term, complying with regulations. Mistry argued that Srinivasan’s original lifetime appointment was void from the outset and all resolutions passed between Oct 23, 2025 and Nov 11, 2025 remained invalid.SDTT’s own conduct, Mistry said, amounts to an admission of irregularity. In a footnote to an internal memo, trustees acknowledged that Srinivasan was not entitled to vote on an Oct 23, 2025 circular related to Mistry’s reappointment. Selective compliance with the Oct 2024 resolution is legally impermissible, said Mistry. He urged the commissioner to reject the report formalising his removal from the trusts, alleging systemic mismanagement and unlawful governance. Mistry’s Wednesday move comes close on the heels of him challenging the eligibility of Srinivasan, Singh and other trustees of the Bai Hirabai J N Tata Navsari Charitable Institution on grounds of non-Zoroastrian status and non-Mumbai residency, after which Srinivasan resigned while Singh continues to remain on the board.Mistry alleged that Singh received over Rs 20 crore in commissions from Tata Sons and other Tata companies between FY2015 and FY2025 while serving as nominee director. He argued that such remuneration should accrue to SDTT rather than be retained personally, and has sought recovery with interest.He also alleged Srinivasan used resources of JLR, a Tata firm, for personal benefit, including engaging ex-design chief Gerry McGovern for consultancy work linked to Norton Motorcycles, a part of his TVS Group. McGovern was reportedly dismissed from JLR in Dec 2025. Mistry also sought disclosure on payments made to JLR for services.