New Delhi, February 10 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the mother, wife, and family members of the late industrialist Sunjay Kapur to "peacefully" resolve their differences and not let the "blessing" of financial wealth turn into a "curse".
Calling it a "sad" situation, Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that the family members, who are in litigation with each other over their estate, were grieving and efforts should be made to be respectful of each other.
The judge therefore asked the senior counsel appearing for Sunjay Kapur's mother, wife, and sister to sit together to resolve the issues in a manner that everyone's interests were safeguarded.
"Is there any chance of mediation? Dirty linen is being washed in court. God has blessed you with financial wealth," the court said during the hearing.
"All of you should try to respect each other... The way forward is to resolve things peacefully. The blessing should not become a curse. Efforts need to be made from both sides," the court orally observed.
The court was dealing with a lawsuit by Sunjay Kapur's mother, Rani Kapur, seeking that their purported family trust be declared "null and void".
In her lawsuit against her daughter-in-law Priya Kapur and others, 80-year-old Rani Kapur has alleged that the trust, which was constituted in her name in October 2017, was a product of "forged, fabricated, and fraudulent" documents and she had been wrongly deprived of all her rights, assets, and legacy.
During the hearing, Justice Pushkarna observed that the daughter-in-law should ensure that it was the plaintiff's husband who "founded everything" and the fruits of his labour should be shared by all.
The court issued a notice to Rani Kapur on an application by Priya Kapur seeking rejection of the lawsuit. Rani Kapur's senior counsel denied all allegations against her.
It also issued a notice to Priya Kapur and other defendants on Rani Kapur's application to stay the disbursement of dividends of a company to the daughter-in-law and to preserve the estate.
In the lawsuit, Rani Kapur has sought a direction to permanently restrain the defendants – her daughter-in-law Priya Kapur and others, including grandchildren, from utilizing or acting in furtherance of the "RK Family Trust" in any manner whatsoever.
Rani Kapur said in her lawsuit that she was the sole beneficiary of the entire estate of her late husband, Surinder Kapur, who was the promoter of various businesses, including the 'Sona Group of Companies', and a "systematic fraud" was committed on her when the assets were transferred to the "RK Family Trust".
Till the time of his demise, Sunjay never confirmed to Rani Kapur that she had actually been deprived of all her rights, assets, and legacy, and never provided a copy of the purported RK Family Trust to her, the plea claimed.
"Through a complex web of illegal transactions undertaken by the defendant Nos. 1 to 9 (Priya Kapur and others) in unfortunate collusion with the plaintiff's now deceased son, late Mr. Sunjay Kapur, all the plaintiff's assets vest in one fraudulent trust titled - RK Family Trust, without her knowledge," the lawsuit said.
Sunjay Kapur passed away on June 12 after collapsing during a polo match in England. He reportedly suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.
A plea by Karisma Kapoor's two children challenging the authenticity of the purported will of their late father is also pending in the high court, with the kids accusing his wife Priya Kapur of being "greedy".
The case will be heard next in March.
