Delhi HC directs Priya Kapur to disclose assets; notes Karisma Kapoor's children already given Rs 1,900 crore

By Sushil Batra
New Delhi [India], September 10 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice in a civil suit filed by Bollywood actor Karisma Kapoor's two children over the Rs 30,000 crore estate of their late father, industrialist Sunjay Kapur, while noting that the siblings had already given Rs 1,900 crore from the family trust.
Justice Jyoti Singh directed Priya Sachdeva Kapur, Sunjay Kapur's widow, to file a comprehensive list of all movable and immovable assets of the deceased along with her reply.
Summons have been issued, with written statements to be filed in two weeks and replications in one week thereafter. Replies to the interim relief plea must also be filed in two weeks, with rejoinders in a week. The matter will be taken up next on October 9 for consideration of an ad-interim injunction.
"Once I register the suit, the doctrine of lis will apply," Justice Singh observed.
The children, represented through their mother Karisma Kapoor, have alleged that Priya Kapur forged Sunjay Kapur's will to claim exclusive control of his assets. Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, for the children, argued that the will is unregistered, was never disclosed earlier, and was read "in haste" at the Taj Hotel.
He further pointed to suspicious circumstances, noting that the executor admitted learning of the will only a day before and that its disclosure came from a family employee.
Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Priya Kapur, countered that the suit is not maintainable. He stressed that the plaintiffs are already trust beneficiaries and had given Rs 1,900 crore just days before filing the case. "It's not as if these people are left on the streets. I am a widow with a six-year-old child. For 15 years, they were nowhere to be seen," he said.
Nayar confirmed that the will is in his client's custody and placed it before the Court for examination, adding that it could be shared with the plaintiffs under a non-disclosure agreement.
Sunjay Kapur's mother, Rani Kapur, also intervened through Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar. "There's something unholy going on. I am 80 years old, concerned for my grandchildren. A trust set up by me has nothing for me? Despite repeated mails, I never received a copy of the will," she submitted.
She further alleged that her rights under the trust had been eroded after Priya Kapur's marriage and raised concerns over the sale of Sona Comstar shares worth Rs 500 crore to a Singapore entity without her knowledge. She urged the Court to maintain the status quo on the estate.
The children, who seek partition of the estate, rendition of accounts, and an injunction against the defendants, claim they were close to their father until his sudden death in Windsor, UK, on June 12.
They allege that despite Sunjay Kapur's repeated assurances about their financial security, Priya Kapur restricted their access to trust documents and later produced a will dated March 21, which they believe is forged. (ANI)