Amid the ongoing dispute over Sunjay Kapur's family trust between his mother Rani Kapur and wife Priya Kapur, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined to halt a board meeting of Raghuvanshi Investment Private Limited (RIPL) which owns a major part of the disputed estate of Sunjay Kapur [Rani Kapur Vs Priya Kapur].

However, the Court ordered that agenda items for appointment of two independent directors and change of signatory for bank accounts shall not be discussed during the meeting.

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan also said today that it would like to examine the progress of the ongoing mediation into the dispute over Sunjay Kapur's estate.

"We have already requested the mediator to start with the mediation proceedings. For the present, we request the opponents not to do anything which may directly affect mediation. Time and again we have said it will be in the interest of all parties to put an end to this dispute else it will be a long drawn battle," the Bench said.

The Court again urged the family members to settle the dispute, while referring to the advancing age of Rani Kapur.

"She is an 80 year old woman. We all came with empty hands and we have to go with empty hands. All we carry is our souls. There has to be a will to settle the matter. Don't go before the mediator with a heavy heart just because court has pushed us. Each one of you try."

Rani Kapur, the 80-year-old widow of late Dr Surinder Kapur, has alleged that she has been divested of her legacy, estate and home through what she claims is a fraudulent instrument called the RK Family Trust or Rani Kapur Family Trust.

The plea states that though the Trust purportedly names her as settlor and trustee, it makes Priya Sachdev Kapur and others the sole beneficiaries, to the exclusion of Rani Kapur and the rest of the Kapur family.

The immediate grievance concerns a notice dated May 8 issued by RIPL calling a board meeting on May 18.

Rani Kapur claimed that the notice was issued barely 24 hours after the Supreme Court referred the family dispute to mediation before former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on May 7.

During the hearing today, the Court at the outset questioned the filing of yet another plea.

"Why are you again here? If you all are not interested in mediation, we will not waste any time and we will hear it. Once we have sent it to mediation, we expect the parties to participate," the Bench said.

Senior Advocate Navin Pahwa for Rani Kapur said the Board meeting had been called to ensure that she is "completely drowned out." The Court asked about the consequences of brining the two directors on board.

"My shareholding is put in the trust behind my back. I was holding majority shares of all companies. My daughter in law transferred my shareholding into a trust," he said.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the respondents, said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had conducted an inspection and said two independent directors by appointed by May 21.

The Court said it will take care of the RBI directive. Sibal said the Court can pass an order in this regard. The Bench then passed the following direction:

"The directives of the RBI and statutory compliances need not be insisted upon by the RBI or [other] statutory authorities"

The case arises from a suit filed by Rani Kapur, who has claimed that after she suffered a stroke in 2017, her late son Sunjay Kapur and his wife Priya Kapur exploited her physical condition and trust.

According to her case, her assets were transferred into the family trust without informed consent. She has alleged that she was made to sign documents, including blank papers, under the pretext of administrative convenience.

The dispute intensified after Sunjay Kapur’s death in June last year. Rani Kapur has alleged that Priya Kapur moved swiftly thereafter to assume control over key Sona Group entities.

She has claimed that a substantial portion of the family assets has gone to Priya Kapur and the children, leaving her with nothing.

Parallel proceedings over control of the estate and assets are already pending before the Delhi High Court.

On April 30, the Delhi High Court allowed an interim injunction plea filed by Bollywood actor Karisma Kapoor’s two children and restrained their stepmother, Priya Sachdev Kapur, from creating any third-party rights over the assets left behind by late industrialist Sunjay Kapur.

Karisma Kapoor is Sunjay Kapur's former wife from whom he got divorced before marrying Priya Kapur.

Before the Supreme Court, Rani Kapur has sought a status quo on alienation of all properties of the trust.

At an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had urged the parties to explore mediation, observing that a prolonged inheritance battle involving an 80-year-old litigant would serve little purpose