Rohit Pawar slams charity commissioner over Tata Trusts order, questions ‘ties to govt’

Chaitanya.Marpakwar

Mumbai: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Monday criticised the state charity commissioner for ordering Tata Trusts to defer board meetings and for appointing an inspector to inquire into complaints filed against it. He said that even in the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) case, the charity commissioner had appointed an unelected administrator and questioned the “relationship” between the state govt and the charity commissioner.

Amogh Kaloti is Maharashtra’s charity commissioner. He works under the law and judiciary department headed by CM Devendra Fadnavis. Earlier this month, Kaloti halted a key Tata Trusts board meeting citing a pending probe.

Rohit said in a post on X that in the MCA case, the Bombay high court had stayed the election process, “and the matter is ongoing as per Supreme Court (SC) directions.” He then stated, “However, the learned charity commissioner, in an unprecedented manner, appointed an unelected administrator who has taken over MCA’s cricket activities with no elected body.”

Rohit further stated, “There’s no objection to fair and legal enquiries, of course. However, one can’t help but wonder whether a rather convenient new trend has emerged in Maharashtra, involving the appointment of administrators or inspectors over important trusts and institutions, and using them as instruments to quietly take control.”

About the Tata Trusts case, Rohit said the charity commissioner had given his order “despite the HC rejecting such a prayer on 13.05.2026 against the Tata Trusts.” He asked in his post, “Is it allowed for the charity commissioner to do what the HC rejected? Only on 18.05.2026 was it clarified that the directions are restricted to the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which holds approximately 24% of Tata Sons! This is clearly an attempt to exercise control over the Tatas, which is a proud business house of India known for its values. And this isn’t limited to charitable organisations alone; the cooperative sector is seeing the same pattern, with Gokul Milk Union and the State Bank serving as fine examples. What is this relationship between the state govt and charity commissioner called? Against this backdrop, it is also essential to investigate whether those placed in charge of these trusts happen to have any special connections with someone in the govt.”

The Maharashtra charity commissioner, operating under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, wields vast statutory powers to oversee, regulate and protect all public charitable trusts and endowments in the state. These powers include registering trusts, investigating financial misconduct, suspending trustees and managing hospital charity beds.