The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the legal battle within the Kapur family over property is so intense that even the epic Mahabharat would pale in comparison. The remark came when a fresh plea was filed by Rani Kapur, mother of late industrialist Sunjay Kapur, against her daughter-in-law Priya Kapur, just days after the apex court appointed former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud as mediator in the dispute.
The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Justice J B Pardiwala, and the court agreed to hear the plea on May 14. The fresh application alleges that the Supreme Court's order of May 7 was being circumvented. On May 7, the court had appointed the former CJI as mediator after both parties expressed willingness to go for mediation and were advised to keep the dispute within the family and refrain from making public statements.
The bench had earlier said, "We shall await a preliminary report from the mediator and thereafter proceed further with the matter," and posted the matter for August. On April 27, the court had sought a response from Priya Kapur and others on a lawsuit filed by Rani Kapur seeking directives to declare the family trust "null and void". Rani Kapur alleged that the trust, constituted in October 2017, was a product of "forged, fabricated and fraudulent" documents.
Legal proceedings over control of the estate and assets are pending before the Delhi High Court, and the petition before the Supreme Court seeks maintenance of status quo on the properties of the trust. The family feud involves substantial assets and has been ongoing for years.
