Inheritance Wars: Ambani, Modi, Now Kapur. India's Mega Family Feuds

Rani Kapur, the mother of businessman Sunjay Kapur, made dramatic allegations Friday - of being locked in a room and forced to sign documents by "certain people" (read, her daughter-in-law, Priya Sachdev Kapur) trying to "usurp the family legacy" and gain control of the Sona Group.

The Sona Group, of which Sunjay Kapur was Chairman till his death in June, represents a business empire with a presence in the agriculture, textiles, construction, IT, education, and biotech spaces, and which has a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 30,000 crore.

In her letter Ms Kapur demanded an AGM be postponed and claimed she had been coerced into signing documents. She also said she, as the majority shareholder, had not been consulted in the appointment of her daughter-in-law as a non-executive director of the board.

READ | Family Drama After Businessman Sunjay Kapur's Death

Priya Sachdev Kapur has yet to respond, but the company has said Ms Kapur has not been a shareholder since 2019.

Whatever the truth may be, and it is likely that truth will be buried under a mountain of allegations, counter-allegations, the Kapur family drama is far from the first of its kind.

Over the past several years many prominent business clans have fought amongst themselves for control of the millions in the coffers, particularly after the death of the family head.

Last year, for example, the family of Modi Enterprises Chairman Krishan Kumar Modi, who died in 2019, went to court over an inheritance in excess of Rs 11,000 crore. Mr Modi's will stipulated that his wealth be divided equally between his wife, Bina; two sons, Samir and Lalit; and daughter, Charu.

However, in February 2024 Samir Modi filed a lawsuit claiming Bina Modi had violated the terms of his father's trust and mishandled company affairs. He sought the dissolution of the trust.

ARCHIVES | In Battle For Rs 11,000 Crore Empire, Son Accuses Mother

Samir and Charu Modi had initially supported Bina Modi and the family trust, but Lalit Modi, the founder of the lucrative Indian Premier League cricket tournament, had demanded otherwise.

Eventually it became Samir and Lalit vs Bina, but shareholders of Godfrey Philips, the group's flagship brand, then stepped in, backing the latter and removing the former from the board.

But that has not settled the inheritance row. Neither Samir nor Lalit Modi have chosen to relinquish their shares in the company to their mother, which would signal their surrender.

And so, the Modi family feud rumbles on, albeit beneath the surface for now.

Going back a year further, there is the Oberoi story.

After family patriarch Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi - the famous hotelier whose EIH Ltd is valued at around Rs 9,000 crore and who built the Oberoi and Trident hotel chains, died in November 2023 - there was a scrabble for power and money.

ARCHIVE | PRS Oberoi, Who Redefined Indian Hospitality, Dies At 94

The central characters are Anastasia Oberoi, a daughter from his second marriage, her stepsiblings Vikramjit and Natasha, and a cousin, Arjun. And the plot twist here are two wills - one made in 1992 and another in 2021, and a codicil (or amendment) made in 2022.

The stepsiblings and cousin back the 1992 will and the daughter backs the 2022 codicil, which grants her mother and her certain properties and financial assets.

The late Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi (File).

She has accused the former three of trying to obstruct this division.

In November last year, after she approached the Delhi High Court, there seemed to be a thaw, and she attended an AGM in which the warring family members made certain assurances.

The Oberoi and Modis are just two examples of family squabbles over mega inheritances.

Then there was with the Ambani clan after patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani died intestate in 2002.

His sons, Mukesh and Anil, fought for control till mother Kokilaben sat them down and brokered peace, dividing the massive Reliance empire between them. The brothers, nevertheless, continued to squabble publicly for years, often even competing for assets and contracts.

ARCHIVE | 41 Billion-Dollar Gap Between Anil, Mukesh Ambani

In 2018 there seemed to be some reconciliation after Mukesh bailed Anil out of trouble by paying over Rs 400 crore to rescue his struggling telecom-to-infrastructure company.

But the younger Ambani's fortunes haven't really improved since then, with the Enforcement Directorate this week raiding locations linked to his business over alleged loan scams.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.