On Monday, the Supreme Court asked very directly, “Why are you all fighting?” and told 80-year-old Rani Kapur that continuing to go to court won’t do much good. The judges would prefer the family to settle things first, and the case is due to be back in court next week.
What the Supreme Court said
Justices JB Pardiwala and Vijay Bishnoi said that reaching an agreement between themselves would be best for everyone. They don’t want a lengthy court battle to continue when Rani Kapur is older.
The Court said, “Why are you fighting? Your client isn’t at an age to fight… try mediation completely, from start to finish. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.” They added, “You are 80. This is not the age for your client to fight.”
Core allegations and timeline
The problem is that Rani Kapur is suing because of how the Rani Kapur Family Trust was created and how it operates. She says it was done unfairly to take away her possessions, including being in charge of the Sona Group companies.
She claims that after a stroke in 2017, her son Sunjay Kapur (who has since died) and his wife Priya Kapur moved things into the trust without her really understanding or agreeing. She says she signed papers, even some that were completely blank, and was told they were just for paperwork.
These claims got stronger after Sunjay Kapur passed away in June of last year. Rani Kapur says Priya Kapur then tried to take over important parts of the business, and Rani Kapur was left with nothing from the estate.
Here are the core claims and counterclaims presented to the court:
– Trust created fraudulently, stripping Rani Kapur of control
– Post-2017 stroke, assets shifted without informed consent
– Documents, including blanks, allegedly signed under pretext
– After Sunjay’s death, control moved to key entities
– Other family members also allege exclusion
Parallel proceedings and counsels
There’s another case already in the Delhi High Court about who controls the estate. In the Supreme Court, Rani Kapur wants to keep things as they are now, stopping anyone from selling or transferring anything from the trust.
Shyam Divan, a Senior Advocate representing Rani Kapur, said courts usually quickly protect things in big estate arguments to prevent money from being moved around. Madhavi Divan, a Senior Advocate for Rani Kapur’s daughter, agreed with this, saying they had been “left with nothing.”
Naveen Pahwa, a Senior Advocate for some of the grandchildren, also supported the idea, stating they had been left out. Vaibhav Gaggar is also a Senior Advocate working for Rani Kapur, while lawyers for the other family members disagree with her version of events.
Why the court is pushing mediation
The judges warned that this could take a very long time in court, because of how large the estate is and how many people have a stake in it. They said mediation could result in a calm and fair resolution more quickly than a long court case.
The judges said they are willing to hear the details of the case, but the first thing to do should be a serious effort to settle. They stressed that these types of disputes rarely help, and especially not when someone is old.
What happens next
The Supreme Court said that if they need to, they will hear the details of the case after mediation has been attempted. They want a complete agreement covering everything, from beginning to end, to avoid lots of little arguments.
The case is scheduled to be discussed again next week. Until then, the question is whether the family will agree to mediation with the goal of protecting the estate and deciding who’s in control, all without a long and drawn-out court battle.
