What led to the resignation of Venu Srinivasan from Bai Hirabai Trust?

Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor and Vice Chairman of seven Tata Group Trusts, resigned from the Bai Hirabai Charitable Trust on Saturday, citing mounting demands from his other business obligations.

His departure coincides with an ongoing legal battle started by former trustee Mehli Mistry, who has contested Srinivasan's and fellow trustee Vijay Singh's right to remain on the trust's board.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner has received an affidavit from Mistry. He wants an investigation into purported anomalies at a trust affiliate.

Srinivasan and Singh's appointments as vice-chairmen have been contested by him. Mistry asserted that the trust's regulations disqualify them due to their non-Parsi ancestry. Along with other trustees, Chairman Noel Tata is named in the petition.

The Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, an affiliate of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, is the focus of the petition. Mistry cited clauses in the December 1923 trust contract that prohibited the admission of non-Parsis and mandated that all trustees be Zoroastrians.

He said that the latest nominations violated these regulations, raising questions about how people who don't fit the requirements might be trustees.

The Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (BHJTNCI), the trust at the center of the conflict, was established in 1923. According to the Tata Trusts website, it functions as a charitable organization committed to the well-being of the Parsi community in Navsari, Gujarat, with an emphasis on areas like healthcare and education.