The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a fresh application in the Rs 30,000-crore Kapur family dispute after allegations were raised that significant corporate decisions were being taken even after the matter had been referred to mediation by the Apex Court.
The controversy relates to the administration and control of the Rani Kapur Family Trust and associated companies, including Raghuvanshi Investment Private Limited (RIPL), which is stated to hold substantial portions of the Kapur family estate, reportedly valued at nearly Rs 30,000 crore.
The matter was mentioned before the Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan by Senior Advocates Navin Pahwa and Vaibhav Gaggar, along with Advocate-on-Record Smriti Churiwal, on behalf of Rani Kapur.
Senior Advocate Pahwa apprised the Bench that shortly after the Court referred the parties to mediation on May 7, RIPL issued a notice on May 8 convening a Board meeting scheduled for May 18. According to the petitioner, the proposed agenda included the appointment of two new independent directors, modification of authorised bank signatories and decisions concerning the company’s investment and financial operations.
The Senior Counsel argued that the move was initiated at the instance of Priya Kapur and was aimed at consolidating control over the disputed estate. He submitted that such actions during the pendency of mediation proceedings were contrary to the spirit of the Supreme Court’s earlier directions.
Pahwa further contended that the respondents were relying on RIPL’s status as a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) and alleged regulatory compliance requirements under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines merely as a pretext to justify the meeting. He argued that permitting such decisions during the pendency of mediation would irreversibly alter the status quo and frustrate the judicially supervised settlement process.
The Bench orally observed that the dispute had assumed extraordinary proportions and resembled a full-scale family conflict. Justice Pardiwala remarked that the matter had entered an arena where the Mahabharat would appear very small. The Court nevertheless clarified that the mediation exercise would remain confined to the family members involved in the dispute.
Senior Advocate Gopal Jain, appearing for RIPL, opposed the allegations and submitted that the proposed Board meeting was a routine statutory exercise necessary for corporate governance and compliance with RBI norms applicable to NBFCs. He denied any attempt to undermine the mediation proceedings.
After briefly hearing both sides, the Bench agreed to examine the issue and listed the application for hearing on May 14.
The Court had earlier appointed former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud as mediator to facilitate discussions between the family members. The Apex Court had suggested mediation, keeping in mind the advanced age of Rani Kapur, It had expressed hope that the dispute could be resolved amicably within the family.
In her detailed Special Leave Petition, Rani Kapur has challenged three orders passed by the Delhi High Court on January 29, February 10 and March 23, 2026, in the concerned dispute. She contended that the High Court merely issued notice and repeatedly deferred urgent applications seeking protection of her assets. The petitioner argued that despite being an elderly widow, no interim protection orders were granted, leaving the estate vulnerable and enabling the opposite side to allegedly prejudice and dissipate family assets.
The petitioner claimed that a trust named Rani Kapur Family Trust was fraudulently created in 2017. She alleged that assets belonging to her late husband were transferred into the trust without her informed consent. Invoking provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, and the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, the petition argued that the trust arrangement was unconscionable and should be presumed to have been executed under undue influence.
In a related development, the Supreme Court had recently sought the response of actor Karisma Kapoor on an application filed by Priya Kapur seeking certified copies of court records relating to the divorce proceedings between Kapoor and her former husband, late industrialist Sunjay Kapur.
The post Supreme Court to hear fresh plea in Rs 30,000 crore Sunjay Kapur estate dispute appeared first on India Legal.