MUMBAI: Mehli Mistry, M Pallonji Group director and confidant of the late Ratan Tata, will not seek re-election as Tata Medical Centre Trust (TMCT) trustee when his term expires Sept 30. This will make it his sixth exit from an institution linked to the late industrialist since his death in Oct 2024. Mehli sent an email to this effect to the board on Sept 15.Mehli has served on the TMCT board since 2017. His departure will leave it to Tata Trusts chairperson Noel Tata, his children – Leah, Maya and Neville Tata – and ex-defence secretary Vijay Singh, whose term ends next year.Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which are locked in a governance dispute with Tata Sons board, set up TMCT in 2005 to run Tata Medical Center hospital in Kolkata. It is the biggest hospital owned by the trusts. It generates enough funds to sustain itself and no longer requires fresh capital from SDTT and SRTT.Built at a cost of Rs 700 crore, the 600-bed cancer hospital is modelled on Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Centre and serves patients from eastern and northeastern India and neighbouring countries. SDTT had established Tata Memorial Centre in Parel in 1942 for Rs 5 lakh and with 80 beds. After the hospital’s control shifted to govt, it maintained limited ties, primarily providing grants and council representation.The Kolkata hospital was previously overseen by Mehli until he invited Noel Tata onto the TMCT board in Oct-Nov 2024, after which responsibilities were transitioned to him.Mehli had exited SDTT and SRTT boards after his term was blocked by Noel Tata, Singh and Venu Srinivasan in Oct 2025, and has since stepped down from NCPA and Small Animal Hospital in Mumbai. He, however, continues to be on the board of Tata Education and Development Trust, the richest trust within Tata Trusts, where he is a lifelong trustee.The exit extends a pattern – Mehli’s retreat from institutions built around Ratan Tata’s personal legacy is accelerating as the succession fight over Tata Sons plays out.