The Sunjay Kapur family feud over legacy, trust and inheritance turned murkier on Wednesday after the late industrialist's mother claimed to have lost all her assets worth over Rs 10,000 crore and "left without a roof".
In Delhi High Court, Sunjay's mother Rani Kapur said she suffered the losses through the formation of the RK Family Trust and a purported will leaving her son's entire personal estate to his wife, Priya Kapur. Following Sunjay's death in England on June 12, the Trust, named after his mother, is now controlled by his wife.
Ms Rani made the submissions during the hearing of a plea by her grandchildren from her previous daughter-in-law and Bollywood actor Karisma Kapoor, who have sought one-fifth share each in their late father's assets. The suit names Ms Priya, her minor son, Ms Rani and the alleged executor of the will, Shradha Suri Marwah, as defendants.
"Everything of my assets worth over Rs 10,000 crore has gone. I am left without a roof. Priya Kapur comes in and within three months of her getting married, everything goes," Ms Rani's Vaibhav Gaggar told the court, in an apparent reference to the Trust behind Sunjay's company Sona Comstar.
In a market filing earlier, Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd said Ms Rani is not a shareholder, majority or otherwise, and wasn't one since 2019.
Mr Gaggar also raised apprehensions over the grandchildren getting Rs 1,900 crores from the Trust, which is different from the assets mentioned in the purported will of her son. Unlike Karisma's children, Ms Rani is disputing both the RK Trust as well as the will of Sunjay Kapur.
"If they have received Rs 1,900 crore worth assets, then I will now have to fight both Karisma and Priya," he said. "I have seven grandchildren. I am the person who has to make sure everyone gets it."
"Where is the will? I am the settler. Rani Kapur Trust.There should be a status quo on all the assets," he added.
The petition, filed by Ms Karisma's two children, challenged Sunjay's March 21 purported will that left his entire personal estate to their step-mother, Ms Priya. The children claim that neither Sunjay mentioned about the will, nor Priya, or any other person ever spoke of its existence. Sunjay collapsed during a polo match in England on June 12.
The children have sought one-fifth share each in their late father's assets. Ms Karisma's daughter, Samaira Kapur, filed the petition through her mother, authorising her as her general power of attorney; her son Kiaan, a minor, is also represented by the mother as the legal guardian.
The children claimed that Ms Priya's associates - Dinesh Agarwal and Nitin Sharma - suppressed the purported will for over seven weeks and revealed it only at a family meeting on July 30.
During the hearing presided over by Justice Jyoti Singh, advocate Rajiv Nayar, who appeared for Ms Kapur, said: "This suit is not maintainable at all. I am his legal wife. The claims of love and affection - where was all this when they fought prolonged divorce legal battles in the Supreme Court. Your husband left you several years ago." He was referring to Ms Karisma and Sunjay's divorce in 2016.
The High Court directed Ms Priya to furnish a list of all movable and immovable assets before the next hearing on October 9.
