Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata is believed to have written to the Maharashtra charity commissioner defending the 1989 transfer of 833 Tata Sons shares from the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (NRTT) to the late Naval Tata, as the regulator examines allegations concerning the nearly four-decade-old transaction.
The communication follows the charity commissioner’s decision to seek Noel Tata’s explanation before determining whether the matter warrants an independent inquiry. The regulator had sought clarifications on several aspects of the transaction, including the rationale for the transfer, the supporting records, whether the trust received fair value for the shares and whether the transaction complied with the legal framework prevailing at the time.
The regulator acted on a complaint seeking an investigation into the share transfer and measures to safeguard the interests of public charitable trusts. The complaint alleged that the shares were transferred to Naval Tata in January 1989, around a week after he stepped down as an NRTT trustee. It questioned the need for the transaction, the adequacy of the supporting documentation and whether sufficient consideration had been paid.
Former Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, who is vice-chairman of several trusts under the Tata Trusts umbrella, subsequently wrote to the charity commissioner seeking an independent inquiry, saying it would help establish the facts surrounding the transaction. Singh’s letter followed a legal notice alleging that assets belonging to a public charitable trust may have been transferred into private ownership without the prescribed legal process being followed.
In a statement issued in June, Tata Trusts rejected the allegations surrounding the transfer. It maintained that the transaction was lawful, made for consideration and approved through the required processes, including by the then board of Tata Sons. It also asserted that the transfer complied with the regulations in force at the time.