Priya Kapur's counsel argues there is no valid challenge to Sunjay Kapur's will before Delhi HC

New Delhi [India], October 15 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday heard detailed submissions from Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Priya Kapur, wife of late industrialist Sunjay Kapur, in a civil suit filed by actress Karisma Kapoor's children seeking a share in their father's personal assets.
Justice Jyoti Singh presided over the matter, where Priya Kapur has opposed the suit, asserting that there is no valid legal challenge to the will of Sunjay Kapur dated March 21, 2025, under which his assets were bequeathed.
Nayar argued that the entire plaint is bereft of any cause of action. There is no challenge to this Will.
He submitted that the plaintiffs were aware of the will's existence as early as July 30, when it was disclosed, and that a formal will reading was held in their presence.
He further pointed out that the suit was filed on September 9 without any reference to the will, and that the document was officially shared with the plaintiffs on September 15, pursuant to the court's direction.
"Even after that, there was no amendment to the plaint or any replication challenging the will", he said.
Questioning the maintainability of the case, Nayar remarked, "I ask myself in which proceeding are we putting the Will to issue? This is not a probate proceeding. You have not challenged the execution or validity of the Will in the pleadings. There is no declaration sought for cancelling it."
He accused the plaintiffs of raising a "non-existent and bogus challenge", adding that after the recent Supreme Court judgment, the court can suo-motu reject the plaint if it discloses no cause of action.
Referring to the alleged discrepancies cited by the plaintiffs, Nayar said, "I am told that there are four additional grounds to invalidate a will -- wrong spelling, wrong address, writing testatrix instead of testator, and the closeness of witnesses. In my 45 years of experience, I have never seen a Will invalidated for spelling errors. Forgery has to be complete no mistakes would be left. And this lady (Priya Kapur) is not a housewife; she is an investment banker. Would she spell her son's name wrong?"
He went on to argue that minor errors could not invalidate a validly executed will, stating that the only relevant questions were whether the deceased was of sound mind and whether the will was executed in the presence of two attesting witnesses.
"A will is not judged by whose custody it remained in or when it surfaced, but by whether it bears genuine signatures and proper attestation," he asserted.
Nayar also sought to counter the plaintiffs' emotional arguments, remarking, "This is wife versus wife -- obviously, the current wife would be preferred, not the estranged one." He said his submissions were only to "dispel allegations" and establish that prima facie the Will is valid.
Reading from the written statement, Nayar pointed out that the execution and disclosure of the will were placed on affidavit and that no material exists before the court to suggest otherwise.
"The execution of the will and the course of disclosure have been detailed. There is no basis for assuming a different narrative," he said.
The court concluded the day's hearing after Nayar's submissions. The matter will continue on Friday for further arguments.
On Tuesday, Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Karisma Kapoor's children, had argued that the will purportedly executed by Sunjay Kapur was forged and fabricated.
He highlighted multiple irregularities, including the use of feminine pronouns ("she" and "her") to describe the testator, omission of Sunjay Kapur's mother, Rani Kapur, from the document, and lack of registration.
He contended that the language and drafting of the will did not reflect Sunjay Kapur's authorship and suggested that it may have been prepared on the laptop of one Nitin Sharma.
Jethmalani described the will as "riddled with contradictions" and argued that the defendant, Priya Kapur, being both propounder and sole beneficiary, raised serious doubts about its authenticity.
The High Court had earlier heard Jethmalani's submissions and is now considering the defence arguments led by Rajiv Nayar on behalf of Priya Kapur. (ANI)