Delhi HC Seeks Rani Kapur's Stand On Priya Kapur's Plea

The Delhi high court on Wednesday sought a response from Rani Kapur,  the late industrialist Sunjay Kapur's mother, on a plea by his wife Priya, accusing the 80-yearold matriarch of making false statements under oath.

Justice Mini Pushkarna directed that notice be issued, recording that counsel for the non-applicants accepted service. The matter has been posted for hearing on March 23.

The application was pressed by Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for Priya, who submitted that several assertions in Rani's pending civil suit are "completely untrue".

Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, also appearing for Priya, argued that making false statements before the court amounts to perjury and constitutes fraud on judicial proceedings.

The plea was resisted by Advocate Smriti Churiwal on behalf of Rani, who questioned the maintainability of the perjury application. One of Rani's grandchildren also supported the objection.

Priya has filed the perjury application in the suit instituted by Rani seeking to invalidate a family trust.

In that suit, Rani has alleged that the trust was created through fraudulent means and used to strip her of control over her assets, including interests linked to the Sona Group.

She has described Priya as the principal architect of the alleged scheme and accused her of swiftly taking control of key group companies without informing her following Sunjay Kapur's death.

Just a day before, while dealing with the broader estate dispute, the high court had observed that the family feud presented an unfortunate picture and suggested that the parties explore mediation to resolve their differences.

The dispute centres around a 2025 will produced by Sunjay Kapur's third wife, Priya Sachdev Kapur, under which she claims entitlement to his entire personal estate. The will is being challenged by his former wife Karisma Kapoor, acting on behalf of their two children, who allege that the document is forged.

-- Bhavini Mishra, Business Standard