New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on May 14 an application filed by late industrialist Sanjay Kapoor’s mother, Rani Kapoor, seeking a direction to restrain his wife Priya Kapoor and others from interfering in the working of the RK Family Trust while the mediation proceedings are pending.
The Supreme Court had on May 7 appointed former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud to act as a mediator in the dispute between 80-year-old Rani Kapoor and Priya Kapoor over family trust.
The matter was mentioned on Tuesday before a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuiyan.
“It appears that we have entered into an arena where Mahabharata will appear very small,” the bench orally observed while listing the hearing application on May 14.
In her new application, Rani Kapoor alleged that Priya Kapoor and others were trying to take control of certain companies and assets associated with the disputed family estate.
The request also raised concerns that attempts may be made to disburse or transfer assets while awaiting mediation proceedings.
Rani Kapoor has sought a direction to restrain Priya Kapoor and others from interfering in the functioning of the trust and certain companies linked to the family estate while the mediation proceedings are pending.
On May 7, the Supreme Court said that parties should participate in mediation proceedings with an open mind.
“We make one request to all the parties before us not to make any public statements and not appear on social media. Since this is a family matter, the endeavor on their part should be to resolve the disputes at the earliest and put an end to the entire matter,” the bench said.
He said that it would be in everyone’s interest if they could resolve the whole matter before the mediator otherwise it would be a long process.
Litigation.
The court made it clear that this mediation is limited to the current matter.
The Supreme Court noted that given the nature of the dispute between family members, it had suggested on April 27 that the parties should consider resorting to mediation.
“Today, all the lawyers representing the parties involved have graciously agreed to go to mediation,” the court said on May 7.
“We will wait for an initial report from the mediator and then continue to move forward with the matter,” she said while publishing the matter on August 6.
On April 27, the Supreme Court sought a response from Priya Kapoor and others on a lawsuit filed by Sanjay Kapoor’s mother seeking directions to declare the family trust “null and void”.
The court issued notice to Priya Kapoor and others on the petition filed by Rani Kapoor alleging that the trust, which was set up in her name in October 2017, was the product of “forged, fabricated and forged” documents.
Legal proceedings regarding the control of the properties and assets are still pending before the Delhi High Court, and the petition filed before the Supreme Court seeks to maintain the status quo on the disposition of all the properties of the trust.
During the hearing on April 27, the Supreme Court asked the parties to the Sona Family Trust dispute to explore mediation.
In the lawsuit, Rani Kapoor has sought a direction to permanently restrict defendants daughter-in-law Priya Kapoor and others, including grandchildren, from using the RK Family Fund or working to further it in any way.
Her application said she was the sole beneficiary of the estate of her late husband, Surinder Kapoor, who was the promoter of several companies, including the Sona Group of Companies, and a “systematic fraud” was committed against her when the assets were transferred to the RK Family Trust.
Till the time of his death, Sanjay never confirmed to Rani Kapoor that she had indeed been stripped of all her rights, assets and inheritance and never provided her with a copy of the alleged RK Family Trust, the petition claimed.
“Through a complex web of illegal transactions carried out by Defendant Nos. 1 to 9 in unfortunate connivance with the Plaintiff’s now deceased son, late Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, all the assets of the Plaintiff devolved into one fraudulent trust called RK Family Trust, without her knowledge,” the lawsuit said.
Sanjay Kapoor died on June 12 after collapsing during a polo match in England. He reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest.
A petition by Karisma Kapoor’s children challenging the validity of their late father’s alleged will is also pending in the Delhi High Court, with the children accusing his wife Priya Kapoor of being “greedy”.
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