Former CJI DY Chandrachud appointed mediator to resolve Rani Kapur - Priya Kapur dispute over Sunjay Kapur's estate

The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud as mediator in the Rani Kapur–Priya Kapur dispute over the Sona Group family trust. (Rani Kapur Vs Priya Sachdev Kapur)

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order after all the parties agreed for mediation.

The Court also requested the parties not to make public statements or post about the family dispute on social media.

“It’s a family dispute; let it be confined among the family only. It should not be a source of entertainment,” the Court remarked during the hearing.

While dictating the order, the Court said the mediation would be confined to disputes among family members. It also said that all parties should participate in the mediation proceedings with an open mind.

“This being a family affair, the endeavour on their part should be to get the disputes resolved at the earliest,” the Court said.

The Court said it would await a preliminary report from the mediator before proceeding further. The matter will be listed in August.

The dispute concerns the creation and control of the Rani Kapur Family Trust, which Rani Kapur has challenged as fraudulent.

Rani Kapur has alleged that the trust was used to divest her of her estate, including control over Sona Group companies.

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.

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.

“Why are you all fighting? This is not the age for your client to fight…go for mediation once and for all, from A to Z. Otherwise, this is a waste,” the Court had remarked.

The Bench had also said that merely prolonging litigation would achieve little.

“You are 80. This is not the age for your client to fight,” the Court had observed.

Rani Kapur was represented by Senior Advocates Shyam Divan and Vaibhav Gaggar

Priya Sachdev was represented by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi

Other respondents were represented by Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Madhavi Divan, Gopal Jain and Navin Pahwa.