MUMBAI: Mehli Mistry, former trustee of the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, has contested Noel Tata’s qualification to sit on the same board under the trust’s century-old deed, raising questions about his faith, citizenship and residence.In a rejoinder filed before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner on Thursday, Mistry sought directions requiring Noel to file an affidavit confirming he meets the 1923 deed’s criteria: That he is a practising Parsi Zoroastrian and a permanent resident of either Bombay Presidency or Navsari.Mistry alleged that Noel “is not practising the Zoroastrian faith”. He also asked for affidavits from every trustee, “especially the former and the current reporting trustee” and offered to file his own.The rejoinder is the sharpest personal challenge to Noel’s position at one of the smaller Tata-linked trusts.It follows a reply by Bai Hirabai on Oct 14, which had argued that Mistry had no standing to object to the cessation of his trusteeship.The trust had said: “The objector (Mistry) is a citizen of the UK and not India and a tax resident of the UAE.”
