The Supreme Court on Monday pushed parties involved in a bitter inheritance dispute linked to late businessman Sanjay Kapoor to explore mediation, even as it issued notice on a petition filed by his mother, octogenarian Rani Kapoor, seeking to protect the estate and restrict alleged interference in Sona Group assets.
A bench of Justices JP Pardiwala and Vijay Bishnoi stressed that a long courtroom battle, especially with an 80-year-old litigant, would serve little purpose. “Why are you all fighting? This is not the right age for your client to fight… Go to mediation once and for all, from A to Z. Otherwise, it is a waste of time,” the bench noted.
The court issued notice to Sanjay Kapoor’s widow, Priya Sachdev Kapoor, and more than 20 other defendants, including Priya and Karishma Kapoor’s children and Sanjay Kapoor’s sister, Mandira Kapoor Smith, keeping open the possibility of deciding the matter on merits if mediation efforts fail.
“It would be in the interest of all parties concerned if they went to mediation and tried to resolve disputes peacefully and fairly,” the court stressed, adding that it would first try to persuade the parties to settle the dispute before moving forward. The case is now scheduled to be listed next week. Senior defenders Shyam Divan and Vaibhav Gajjar represent Rani Kapoor.
Sanjay Kapoor, chairman of auto components manufacturer Sona Comstar, died of cardiac arrest while playing polo in London on June 12, 2025. He was earlier married to designer Nandita Mahtani, and later to actor Karishma Kapoor, and has two children – Samira and Kiaan. After their divorce in 2016, he married Priya in 2017 and they had a son named Azarius. The Rani Kapoor Family Trust was established under a deed of trust dated October 26, 2017, and holds shares in Sona Comstar.
The origins of the dispute lie in a lawsuit filed by Rani Kapoor challenging the establishment of the Rani Kapoor Family Trust, which she claims was structured in a way that stripped her of control of her assets, including significant interests in the Sona Group. She alleged that the trust was fraudulently created and used as a vehicle to transfer assets without her informed consent.
According to her statements, the sequence of events dates back to 2017, when she suffered a stroke. She alleges that following her ill health, her late son Sanjay Kapoor and others acted in a manner that resulted in key assets being transferred to the trust, allegedly without her full understanding or consent. The petition alleges that she was forced to sign documents – some of which were allegedly blank – under the guise of administrative proceedings.
The dispute escalated after Sanjay Kapoor’s death last year, with competing claims emerging over control of family assets and business interests. Rani Kapoor has alleged that Priya Kapoor moved quickly to assume control of key entities within the Sona group, leading to a situation where large portions of the estate are now under the control of other family members.
The petition before the Supreme Court seeks, among other remedies, a direction to maintain the status quo regarding the estate and prevent transfer or dissipation of assets during the period of dispute. It is also challenging some orders passed by the Delhi High Court, where parallel proceedings on related issues are currently pending.
While hearing the matter on Monday, the bench repeatedly emphasized that inheritance disputes of this kind, involving vast estates and multiple stakeholders, are better resolved through dialogue rather than protracted litigation.
At the same time, the court made clear that it would not hesitate to intervene if necessary. “We will hear the matter, if necessary, on the merits; however, we must first try to convince the parties to go for mediation,” the bench said.
