Can Ratan Tata’s inherited shares go to his charities?

Ratan bequeathed his holding to two charitable vehicles he set upMUMBAI: The Maharashtra charity commissioner validated the 1989 transfer of 833 Tata Sons shares from the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (NRTT) to Naval Tata—and in doing so, surfaced a little-known condition that’s attached to the deal: the shares could be transferred or bequeathed only to the holder’s own relatives, and not to third parties.Naval split the shares among his wife Simone and his three sons, Ratan, Jimmy and Noel—meaning the restriction followed the shares down the family line.Nearly four decades on, that condition has taken on fresh weight over the fate of the Tata Sons shares Ratan inherited from his father.Ratan bequeathed his holding to two charitable vehicles he set up: the Ratan Tata Endowment Fund (RTEF) and