Rani Kapur Alleges Daughter-In-Law Priya Used 'Fraud' Trust To Divert Family Estate

In a new twist to the ongoing saga over the control of the Kapur family's assets, Rani Kapur, the mother of businessman Sunjay Kapur, who died in June last year, has approached the Delhi High Court alleging that her daughter-in-law, Priya Kapur, used a "fraudulent" trust to unlawfully divert the family estate.

In a detailed civil suit, Rani sought a declaration that the 'RK Family Trust' or the 'Rani Kapur Family Trust', purportedly created through a trust deed dated October 26, 2017, is "illegal, void, and the result of fraud, forgery, and undue influence". She also sought consequential reliefs, including dissolution of the trust, restitution of assets, rendition of accounts, and permanent injunctions restraining the defendants from acting upon or benefiting from the impugned trust.

"It is submitted that by means of a complex web of illegal transactions undertaken in an unfortunate collusion with the plaintiff's (Rani Kapur) son Sunjay Kapur, all the plaintiff's assets vest in one fraudulent Trust titled - RK Family Trust, without her knowledge. The entire fraud perpetrated upon the plaintiff has only now been discovered post the death of her son, who also passed away under mysterious circumstances," the suit claimed.

Sunjay Kapur, 53, died playing polo in London on June 12 last year. The cause of death was listed as a cardiac arrest, but there were reports that he suffered an anaphylactic shock after a bee flew into his mouth. His mother, however, hinted darkly at a "transnational conspiracy" leading to the "murder" of her son.

According to the suit, Rani Kapur is the sole beneficiary and legatee of the entire estate of her late husband, Surinder Kapur, founder and promoter of the Sona Group, who passed away in June 2015. Surinder had executed a will dated February 6, 2013, bequeathing all his movable and immovable assets, including his shareholding in Sona Group companies, exclusively to his wife. The will was probated in January 2016 without any objection from their three children, including Sunjay Kapur.

However, the suit alleges that after suffering a stroke in September 2017, Rani became physically and emotionally dependent on her son Sunjay Kapur and his third wife, Priya Kapur. Taking advantage of this, Priya and other family members allegedly acted to secretly divert her assets into the RK Family Trust without her consent. 

Rani further claimed that she had already created two valid and registered trusts in 2016 - Dr SK Family Trust and the MK Family Trust - which, contrary to these, her assets were siphoned into the RK Family Trust in which she was neither named as a beneficiary nor retained any control.

Priya Kapur's statement recorded

Priya Kapur, who has filed a criminal defamation case against her late husband's sister, Mandira Kapur Smith, recorded her statement at the Patiala High Court. Priya had alleged that a series of statements made against her across podcasts, social media platforms, and media interviews, and republished online content, constitute a sustained and deliberate campaign to damage her reputation.

In her complaint, she asserted that the impugned remarks contain false assertions, insinuations, and personal attacks presented as fact - despite the issues being sub judice, thereby causing serious reputational harm.