Delhi High Court allows forensic examination of Sunjay Kapur's will

The Delhi High Court has allowed Sunjay Kapur's former wife, Karisma Kapoor and mother Rani Kapur to forensically inspect the late industrialist's will, which is lying in a sealed cover with the court registry. .In an order passed on February 26, Joint Registrar Gagandeep Jindal said that Karisma and Rani Kapur or their forensic and handwriting experts can inspect the will on March 10. "Accordingly, the plaintiffs [Karisma Kapoor's two children] and defendant no. 3 [Rani Kapur] or through their authorised pleaders/forensic or handwriting experts are allowed to inspect the original Will of late Sh. Sanjay Kapur kept in sealed cover with the registry. The registry shall allow plaintiffs and defendant no.3 to inspect the original Will of late Sh Sanjay Kapur kept in the sealed cover on 10.03.2026 at 03:00 p.m in the presence of authorised counsel for defendant nos. 1 & 2 [Priya Kapur] as per rules but will not allowed any party to take photograph or copy of the said original Will kept in the sealed cover," Registrar Jindal ordered.He added that if Priya Kapur's counsels fail to remain present on the said date and time, Karisma Kapoor and Rani Kapur shall carry on the inspection in their absence. .The will is at the centre of the bitter legal battle between several members of Sunjay Kapur's family, including Karisma Kapoor (Sunjay's second wife), his widow Priya Kapur and mother Rani Kapur.Karisma Kapoor's children have approached the High Court challenging the authenticity of the will. .The Court passed the order while deciding two applications seeking inspection of the will. During the hearing, Karisma Kapoor's counsel argued that while a copy of the document had been shared with them earlier, inspection of the original was essential to verify its authenticity. They sought permission for forensic examination to enable appropriate legal steps at a later stage.Priya Kapur's counsel opposed the plea, contending that applications seeking inspection were not maintainable and that forensic examination should be deferred to the evidence stage.It was also argued that the Registrar cannot adjudicate these applications for inspection of the will..The Court rejected these submissions, observing that merely placing a document in a sealed cover does not curtail the registrar’s powers under the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules to allow inspection. The registrar further noted that no specific order had been passed by the Court directing confidentiality of the will itself, unlike certain asset-related documents."In view of the above discussion, the undersigned find no merits in the arguments of Ld. Counsel for defendant nos. 1 & 2 [Priya Kapur and her minor son] that the captioned IAs are not maintainable rather the plaintiffs and defendant no. 3 have legal right to inspect the original will of late Sh. Sanjay Kapur kept in sealed cover to ascertain its authenticity and genuineness and to prepare their case," the Court said. .Advocate Saurav Agrawal along with advocates Shantanu Agarwal, Ravi Sharma, Akhil Sacher, Manas Arora, Syed Hamza Ghayar, Raghav Thareja, Tazeen Ahmad and Rasveen Kaur Kapoor of Lexster Law LLP appeared for Karisma Kapoor.Advocates Ankit Rajgarha, Tarun Sharma, Palak Sharma and Rohit Kumar represented Priya Kapur. Advocates Vidisha Jain, Jaiveer Kant and Meher Thapar represented Rani Kapur..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.