The Supreme Court’s attempt to broker peace in the bitter inheritance dispute within the family of late businessman Sanjay Kapoor appeared to have hit an early snag on Tuesday, just days after former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud was appointed as mediator, with Kapoor’s mother Rani Kapoor accusing her daughter-in-law Priya Kapoor of trying to “forcibly take possession” of the disputed property even during Kapoor’s tenure. Court-monitored mediation process.
Rani Kapoor has filed a fresh application in the Supreme Court alleging that Priya Kapoor and others are continuing their efforts to take control of companies and key assets linked to the family estate despite the May 7 mediation order.
The application was mentioned before a bench of Justices JP Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuiyan, which agreed to hear the petition on May 14 after brief submissions were made by the lawyers representing the rival parties.
Senior advocates Naveen Pahwa and Vaibhav Gajjar appeared on behalf of Rani Kapoor. Senior Advocate Gopal Jain represents RIPL and stated that since the company is a coNBFC, the meeting and proposed appointments were in compliance with RBI guidelines.
But the court responded, saying: “It appears that we have entered an arena where the Mahabharata will look very small… We will consider the matter (application).”
In her application filed through advocate Smriti Shouriwal, Rani Kapoor referred to a notice issued by Raghuvanshi Investment Private Limited (RIPL) convening a board meeting on May 18, alleging that the move is aimed at bypassing the mediation process initiated by the Supreme Court.
“It is submitted that this notice has been issued at the request of respondent No. 1 (Priya), along with her aides, being respondent Nos. 3 (Director in RIPL) and 4 (Corporate Secretary of RIPL), who planned to bypass the process of the Hon’ble Court and render the upcoming court-monitored mediation futile with the sole motive and purpose of forcibly taking over the financial affairs of the company and the disputed management and family properties,” the petition said.
The petition also alleged that the defendants’ conduct heightened concerns that attempts might be made to alienate or transfer family assets during the mediation proceedings themselves.
“The aforesaid conduct… reinforces the apprehension of the applicant that there is every possibility that the said respondents will make every attempt to transfer and dispose of the family properties while awaiting the mediation proceedings and will use the same only as a dilatory tactic with the sole motive of rendering the petitioner’s docket and case futile,” the application added.
The petition said that Rani Kapoor “will suffer serious and irreparable harm if interim relief is not granted. If the defendants are allowed to appoint new directors, remove signatories to the banks, grant unlimited financial powers behind her back, and transfer and dispose of assets, this would create an irreversible situation that no future court order or mediation could easily undo.”
Defendants in the proceedings include Priya Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor’s sister Mandira Kapoor-Smith, and other family members, including children from his previous marriage to actress Karisma Kapoor.
Rani Kapoor has sought directions restraining Priya Kapoor and other respondents from interfering in the functioning of RK Family Trust and five companies linked to the family estate, including RKPL, Aureus Investment Pvt Ltd, Sona BLW Precision Forgings, Pune Heat Treatment Pvt Ltd and BRS Finance and Investment Company, while awaiting the mediation proceedings.
The latest development comes less than a week after the Supreme Court officially began mediation proceedings in the sensitive dispute and appointed Justice Chandrachud to facilitate settlement talks between the warring factions.
While appointing the former CJI as mediator on May 7, the bench advised the parties not to make the family dispute a “source of entertainment for others” and urged them to participate in the mediation with a “positive mindset”.
“Since this is a family matter, the endeavor on their part must be to resolve the dispute at the earliest and put an end to the entire matter… It will be in the interest of everyone if they can resolve the dispute before the learned mediator. Otherwise, it will be a protracted litigation,” the court observed then.
The proceedings before the Supreme Court arose out of a petition filed by octogenarian Rani Kapoor, seeking protection of family property and restraint against alleged interference in assets linked to the Sona Group following the death of her son Sanjay Kapoor, former chairman of Sona Comstar.
Sanjay Kapoor died of cardiac arrest while playing polo in London on 12 June 2025. The dispute subsequently escalated into competing claims over control of family assets, investment funds and corporate entities associated with the Sona Group.
Rani Kapoor alleged that the Rani Kapoor Family Trust was structured in a way that deprived her of control over significant family assets without her informed consent. Her petition traces the origins of the dispute back to 2017, after she suffered a stroke, after which some documents and transactions were executed under the guise of administrative procedures.
