Supreme Court Appoints Ex-CJI DY Chandrachud As Mediator In Rs 30,000 Crore Kapur Family Dispute

In Rani Kapur Versus Priya Sachdev Kapur and Ors, the Supreme Court on Wednesday referred the dispute over late industrialist Sunjay Kapur’s estate to mediation and appointed former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud as the mediator.

A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order after Sunjay Kapur’s mother Rani Kapur and widow Priya Kapur agreed to resolve the dispute through mediation.

The Court asked all parties to approach the mediation proceedings with an open mind. It also directed them not to make statements before the media or post comments on social media while the matter remains pending.

During the hearing, Justice Pardiwala remarked, “It’s a family dispute, let it be confined among the family only. It should not be a source of entertainment.” The observation came after Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Priya Kapur, requested the Court to ask Rani Kapur not to “wash dirty linen” publicly.

The Court recorded in its order that the mediation would remain limited to disputes among family members. It further observed that resolving the matter through mediation would be in the interest of all parties and could prevent prolonged litigation.

The bench also stated that it would await a preliminary report from Justice Chandrachud before taking up the matter further.

The dispute relates to the “RK Family Trust” or “Rani Kapur Family Trust,” which Rani Kapur has alleged is fraudulent, illegal, and void. She has claimed that her estate and family legacy were transferred into the trust without her knowledge or consent.

Rani Kapur has already filed a suit before the Delhi High Court claiming ownership over the estate of her late husband Dr. Surinder Kapur, founder of the Sona Group of Companies. According to her, Dr. Kapur’s Will dated February 6, 2013 transferred his entire estate to her after his death in 2015.

The suit states that the Will was probated by the Bombay High Court in January 2016 after all three children submitted no-objection statements. However, Rani Kapur has alleged that her assets were later siphoned off through a series of transactions and moved into the RK Family Trust around 2017.

She has further alleged that after Sunjay Kapur’s death, Priya Kapur moved quickly to take control of important Sona Group companies by securing key appointments without consulting her.

Calling the trust “illegal, fraudulent and unregistered,” Rani Kapur has sought restoration of her entire estate and family legacy to the position existing before the trust was allegedly created.