Mehli Mistry steps down from NCPA board after exit from Tata Trusts

Mehli Mistry, recently ousted from the Tata Trusts board amid a rift between key trustees, has also stepped down from the governing council of the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, as per a Moneycontrol report.

He has been replaced on the NCPA Council by Vijay Singh, a trustee of Tata Trusts.

Mistry had served on the NCPA Council as a nominee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, alongside other Trusts’ representatives including Jehangir H. Jehangir and Pramit Jhaveri, the report added. His departure from the NCPA board comes shortly after his exit from the Tata Trusts.

Other members of the NCPA Council include K. N. Suntook (Chairman and Member-in-Charge), Noel Tata (Vice Chairman), Brinda Kahtau, and multiple nominees from the Maharashtra government.

Founded in 1969 at the initiative of J. R. D. Tata with support from the Tata Trusts and leading arts patrons, the NCPA was formally inaugurated in 1970 and is today one of India’s most prestigious cultural institutions, added the report.

In October, Mistry — once seen as a close confidant of Ratan Tata — was removed from his trustee position after key members declined to renew his term. Chairman Noel Tata, Vice Chairman Venu Srinivasan, and trustee Vijay Singh reportedly withheld their approval, effectively ending his tenure at one of the group’s most influential charitable organisations, as per people familiar with the matter.

Because Mistry could vote on his own renewal, the decision was taken by the remaining trustees. With Jimmy Tata not actively participating in Trust deliberations, the voting majority effectively applied across both the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT).

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The SDTT board currently comprises Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri, and Darius Khambata. The SRTT board includes Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Jimmy Tata, Jehangir H. C. Jehangir, Mehli Mistry, and Darius Khambata.

The decision followed a resolution moved by Tata Trusts CEO Siddharth Sharma last Friday to renew Mistry’s three-year term. While trustees Darius Khambata, Pramit Jhaveri, and Jehangir Jehangir had expressed consent, the lack of unanimity ultimately sealed Mistry’s exit, as per reports.