"Rubbish": Sunjay Kapur's Sister On Claim Of Estate Being Left To Priya Kapur

The bloodline of Surinder Kapur, father of the late Sona Comstar chairman Sunjay Kapur, is getting nothing of what he created and the family is being made a mockery of, his daughter and Sunjay Kapur's sister Mandhira Kapur Smith has said.

Speaking to NDTV's Gargi Rawat on Friday, after the Delhi High Court allowed Sunjay Kapur's third wife Priya Kapur to submit details of his reported Rs 30,000-crore assets in a sealed cover, Mandhira Kapur also said she and her mother, Rani, are in touch with Karisma Kapoor - who is Sunjay Kapur's second wife - and speak to her every day.

Referring to Priya Kapur without naming her, Sunjay Kapur's sister also remarked that the claim that her husband loved her so much that he would cut off the rest of his family was "rubbish".

Karisma Kapoor and Rani Kapur are fighting a legal battle against Priya Kapur over a will in which Sunjay Kapur had allegedly left his entire estate to her and excluded his children from previous marriages as well as his mother. Sunjay Kapur - who was appointed the managing director of Sona BLW Precision Forgings Limited in 2015 after the death of his father and founder Surinder Kapur, and then became chairman of the company, now called Sona Comstar, in 2019 - died in June while playing a polo match in England.

Asked about the court allowing Priya Kapur to give the details of the assets in a sealed cover, Ms Kapur Smith said that part was okay and the problem was Priya Kapur's insistence on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) being signed by everyone with access to the list.

On the statement by Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who is representing Karisma Kapoor's children Samaira Kapur and Kiaan Raj Kapur, that "confidentiality is a cloak under which you fritter away the assets", Ms Kapur Smith said she was surprised by the insistence on an NDA and found the idea a "bit absurd".

"And the fact is, this is all actually my mother's estate. So you're telling us that we can't figure out what is going on and we have to sign NDAs, which is a bit absurd for us. The bottom line is that this family, the bloodline of this family has got nothing from what my father created in his entire lifetime. It has gone to people who have just entered the family, which is a bit absurd in any family. This is such a big family with a legacy, which my father and mother worked for together," she stressed.

"Our children are not seeing a penny. My mother's not seeing a penny. We are not seeing a penny. And it's all going out. So we didn't want the NDA. We want the truth. And, from day one, this is what I have said - all we are asking for is the information. Why is everything so quiet? Why is it such a secret? And now, again, in court, we were asked to sign NDAs. My mother's almost 80. You think she's going to sign an NDA at this age for her own estate? I mean, it's just ridiculous," she rued.

'Mockery'

Emphasising that the estate is her mother's, Ms Kapur Smith said Priya Kapur's claims about her shares being put in a trust can only be established after the family sees the documents.

"Show us what my mother has signed. But everything is now under an NDA. Everything's confidential from the person it belongs to. So it's becoming more of a circus. I feel bad that this is what my brother's memory is coming down to. It's all this rubbish. My family is being made a mockery out of by this entire thing. Our family is known in the automotive industry for what my father created. Today, we're a mockery. Today, all we're being talked about for is this damn case. What about what my father built? Sona is becoming a mockery," she said.

Bogus Will?

On claims that the will is bogus and Samaira and Kiaan are being denied their share of the property, Ms Kapur Smith said it was not possible that her brother would leave them nothing. 

"If you come from a family where the father is fully involved in the children's life and they have been left nothing, would anyone not say it is bogus? It's absolute rubbish. These are kids he doted over. There's proof of them discussing a Portugal golden visa for inheritance. So, is my brother stupid to do all this? It's a joke. You're telling me there was no love for his kids, that he wouldn't leave them anything. This is unheard of," she stressed. 

Asked whether she and her mother, Rani, were in touch with Karisma Kapoor, Ms Kapur Smith said they talk every day. 

"We are all talking every day. Everything that's going on is a blow to us... Karisma Kapoor is fighting for the rights of her children as she should be... My mother has been on holidays with them and the kids. Right now, sadly, all the relationships are based on securing the kids, securing this family and securing my mother. It is sad that the only conversation we all have now is: 'What the hell happened? How do we secure this family?' My mother has six grandchildren and she needs to look after all six," she said.

"Even now, Samaira and Kiaan have been basically cut off. I'm going to go back to this. There is no one from the bloodline, except for probably (Sunjay and Priya Kapur's son) Azarias, who is getting anything of what my father created. And, please remember, Azarias came after my father. My father was very close to his six grandchildren. It's just sad what we as a family are being put through; this rubbish of someone coming in and taking everything. She didn't even know my father, she's never met my father," she added. 

Referring to Priya Kapur without naming her, she remarked, "So, how is she claiming that her husband loved her so much to cut off the rest of the family? What rubbish? I mean, fine, we didn't talk for four years, but it was not his to give to anyone. It's my mother's."