The feud over late industrialist Sunjay Kapur’s estate escalated on Monday after his mother Rani Kapur launched a fresh attack on his widow, Priya Sachdev. Priya, who has already been accused by Karisma Kapoor’s children of fabricating Sunjay’s will, now faces a new allegation that she has concealed the true extent of his wealth.
Sunjay Kapur was married to Karisma Kapoor from 2003 to 2016, and they had two children together.
Sunjay’s mother has claimed that while he drew a salary of ₹60 crore, his disclosed bank balance stands at just a little over ₹1 crore.
Sunjay’s mother accuses Priya of hiding his wealth
Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, who was representing Rani Kapur, made the accusations on Monday in the Delhi High Court. Through her lawyer, Rani Kapur alleged that there has been a “massive concealment” of her son’s assets by Priya.
The lawyer claimed that Priya withheld crucial financial details from the court and suggested there is suspicion that the funds may have been transferred abroad.
“Massive concealment. This house (farmhouse in Delhi’s Rajokri area) is built by my late husband. There are more than 50 pieces of artwork there… This gentleman (Sunjay Kapur) had no life insurance, no rental income, and mutual funds? Just his salary was ₹60 crore, and we are saying that he has only ₹1.7 crore in his accounts,” the lawyer said.
He continued, “My Lady may seek details of 2 years, not just of Mr Kapur but also of Defendant No 1 (Priya Kapur) because the money has moved. Any interim order must be in the nature of status quo ante because the money has moved across borders, potentially.”
The lawyer also also countered Priya’s claim that in the Kapur family the tradition was for a husband to leave his personal assets to his wife, just as Sunjay’s father had left everything to Rani Kapur.
The lawyer also disputed Priya’s claim that it is a tradition in the Kapur family for husbands to leave their personal assets to their wives, something she noted while mentioning that Sunjay’s father left his estate to Rani Kapur in the past.
“How can you compare the two? She (Priya Kapur) was married to Sunjay for seven years. This was his third and her second marriage. I was married to my husband for forty years. The distinction doesn’t end here. Our Will was registered. The witness to our Will was a person whom my husband had known for 30 years. Here, the witness says he wasn’t even associated with the company before 2022,” said the lawyer.
The legal counsel was making remarks before Justice Jyoti Singh, who was hearing the interim injunction application filed by Karisma Kapoor’s two children (Samaira and Kiaan) to restrain Priya Kapur from creating any third-party rights over their father’s assets. In the main suit, the kids have accused stepmother Priya of forging the will. The Court will hear the matter next on December 3.
Feud over Sunjay Kapur’s estate
Samaira and Kiaan have filed a plea in the Delhi HC claiming that the will presented by Priya, Sunjay’s third wife, is fake. After a hearing in the case on November 17, Joint Registrar (Judicial) Gagandeep Jindal issued notices to Priya Kapur and Shradha Suri Marwah, the executor of the alleged will, on the plea and asked them to file their replies within three weeks. The plaintiffs have alleged that the will is forged and fabricated, intended to exclude them from their late father’s estate.
Sunjay was the chairman of Sona Comstar, a leading auto parts manufacturer. He died in June in London while playing a polo match. Sunjay was married to Karisma from 2003 to 2016, and they had two children together. He married Priya in 2017.