First, the story outline of the Kapur family dispute-
The succession battle over the about Rs 10,000 crore estate of Surinder Kapur, a 28% stake in Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd, is a poly-tiered contest and carries some interesting twists.
The first dispute arose in 2015 after the demise of the founder, Dr Surinder Kapur. The Will that he had executed in 2015, shortly prior to his demise (overriding a previous Will), was contested by his daughter Mandhira.
The daughter contested the Will on the grounds that she had been completely excluded from the inheritance. The Will had nominated as beneficiaries only Surinder Kapur's wife, Rani Kapur and his son, Sunjay Kapur.
The Delhi High Court (HC) in 2023 settled this matter and upheld the Will as genuine. The son, Sunjay Kapur, was entrusted to administer the property to the common benefit.
Though the inheritance issue found a quietus, the subject did not, as the mother, Rani Kapur, approached the Delhi HC that her son failed in his fiduciary duties to render a proper account of the properties inherited by them jointly, alleging misdemeanour and misfeasance in the handling of the family's financial matters.
It looks like this matter is still pending in the court.
Earlier this year, Sunjay Kapur died. Further controversies were triggered in its wake. The matter hit the headlines when Sona BLW convened the annual general meeting (AGM) for the current year, and Priya Sachdev Kapur, the current wife of Sunjay Kapur, was to be appointed as a director.
Rani Kapur challenged this move on the grounds that she was the sole beneficiary of the family trust that controlled the stake in the public-listed entity and sought a deferment of the AGM.
According to a report from Moneycontrol, weeks after the sudden demise of Sona BLW's chairman Sunjay Kapur, his mother Rani Kapur has shot a letter to the board, alleging that she was 'coerced' into signing documents behind locked doors, and that some people were trying to usurp the Kapur family's legacy.
The allegations of Rani Kapur, that she was made to sign some documents under coercion that resulted in her losing the beneficial interest in the family trust and her footing to nominate the promoter director on the board of Sona BLW, will resonate with the details of the court case that follows.
The company, however, rebuffed her claims and maintained that the nomination of Priya Sachdev Kapur was at the instance of the promoter holding company, Aureus Investment Pvt Ltd, and Rani Kapur had no locus to object as she did not own any shares in the company. The trust itself continues to hold about 28% stake in Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (Sona Comstar) through its promoter entity, Aureus Investment.
When matters stood thus, the media agog on the happenings, another fork in the tale was brought to light a couple of days back.
A Will left behind by Sunjay Kapur, prepared a few days before his sudden demise, surfaced. However, this gave room for a good deal of doubt.
It is important to know the chronology of the marriages of Sunjay Kapur. His first was with Nandita Mahtani. They had no child jointly.
The second that followed, with Karishma Kapoor, the actor, resulted in two children, Samaira and Kiaan.
The last in the sequence is the marriage with Priya Sachdev Kapur, which has survived. The child out of this marriage is Azarius.
The dispute over Sunjay Kapur's Will has been mounted by his two children, Samaira and Kiaan.
The main allegation appears to be that the Will was not shown to them, arousing suspicion of forgery and falsification. The Delhi High Court's ruling will bring clarity to the succession of Sunjay Kapur's personal estate.
Only when the court disposes of this will the light be shed on this succession story (updated).
(Ranganathan V is a CA and CS. He has over 44 years of experience in the corporate sector and in consultancy. For 17 years, he worked as Director and Partner in Ernst & Young LLP and three years as a senior advisor post-retirement, handling the task of building the Chennai and Hyderabad practice of E&Y in tax and regulatory space. Currently, he serves as an independent director on the board of four companies.)
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