The mix of power and family struggle over late industrialist Sunjay Kapoor's will continued on Monday as his and actress Karisma Kapoor's children questioned the authenticity of the purported will before the Delhi High Court, claiming that it was riddled with "bloopers" and the mistakes were "uncharacteristic" of their father.
Samaira, 20, and Kiaan Kapur, 15, have filed a suit against Sunjay Kapur's wife, Priya Sachdev Kapur, her son, as well as the late industrialist's mother, Rani Kapur, and Shradha Suri Marwah, who is a purported executor of the will. The children are seeking a share in their late father's assets.
Appearing for the Kapur children, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani submitted before Justice Jyoti Singh the errors in Sunjay's purported will, which accounts for his assets reportedly worth ₹30,000 crore.
ALSO READ | 'Priya Kapur like Cinderella's stepmother': High drama during Sunjay Kapur's inheritance case hearing
Last week, the counsel for Karisma Kapoor's children said that they were informed about the will until July 30, even though it had reportedly been executed on March 21.
The inheritance battle began just a month after Sona Comstar chairperson Sunjay Kapur's death in London. His mother, Rani Kapur, had in July cited a 2015 will and claimed to be the sole beneficiary of the estate of her late husband company founder Surinder Kapur
Sunjay Kapur inheritance battle hearing | Top points
- 'Errors in will': Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani submitted before the HC that the address of Sunjay Kapur's daughter is wrongly mentioned in the will, and his son's name is misspelt. "Sunjay Kapoor knows her address. This is an office address of Karisma Kapoor. These kind of bloopers are very uncharacteristic of Mr Kapoor. He had a very good relationship with his children. How can he have written his daughter's address wrong and misspelled his son's name in multiple places in the will," the counsel said.
- ‘Will is so casual’: Samaira and Kiaan's counsel further said that if Kapur's will was being modified, then there were far more elementary things that needed modification. "This will demeans the late Sunjay Kapur. It is so casual. There were glaring errors in this will," Jethamalani said.ALSO READ | 'Nothing left in banks': Big charge by Karisma's kids in father Sunjay Kapur's estate battle
- ‘Will forged’: During the previous hearing, the children told the HC that it was highly suspicious that a well-educated man like their father would not inform the will's executor that she had been appointed as an executor. Their counsel also said that the will does not mention details of various assets, including crypto assets, jewellery, etc. "This is not a will which Sunjay Kapur had prepared, read or made," Mahesh Jethmalani told the court. He added, “This can only be done by the beneficiary of the will, to prevent any challenges...Only one person was given the benefits. If this will is a forgery, then only one person could have forged it.”
- ‘Something very secretive’: Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani submitted that the first Word file of the Will, prepared on February 10, 2025, was on one Nitin Sharma's device, LiveLaw reported. He said that it contradicts the logic that Sunjay Kapur, while on a holiday with his son, was modifying a will that was stored on Sharma's device. "We don't know the contents of the document. There is an apparent contradiction in their case. At the bottom of the file, it is stated that 'this file came from another computer and might be blocked. So the source is unclear. Something is very secretive about this will," he added. Jethmalani further said that Kapur's purported will was modified on March 17, and it remains unclear who made the modification, adding that the will was then executed on March 21 and again on March 24.ALSO READ | Sunjay Kapur inheritance case: Delhi HC allows Priya Kapur to file asset details in sealed cover
- ‘Move from emails to WhatsApp’: The children's counsel said that on a WhatsApp group with Sunjay and Priya Kapur, and Dinesh Agarwal, the will was sent as a PDF and its name was changed twice. "Two wills were being simultaneously prepared of husband and wife. These were not mutual will, so they have to be explained," he added. He submitted that there is no group chat name or phone numbers on Dinesh's phone, and that the document "SK Will" was only seen, not read, LiveLaw reported. "This is an ominously uncertified document. It is surprising they moved from emails to WhatsApp chats. He certifies only the emails and not the WhatsApp chats," Jethmalani said.
- 'No lawyer drafted the will': Karisma Kapoor's children's counsel described the case as one where almost every possible "suspicious" circumstance is present. He submitted that "no lawyer drafted the will. A layman witness was taken. The contents of the will are so ridiculous".ALSO READ | ₹30000 crore inheritance drama explained">Why did Sunjay Kapur not leave first wife Nandita Mahtani anything in his will? ₹30000 crore inheritance drama explained
- Previous hearing: During the last hearing of the case, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani alleged that Priya Kapur was in a hurry to appropriate Sunjay Kapur's assets soon after his death. She intended to restrict the children's share to 26 per cent and to appropriate the rest to herself. "Therein lies the veneer. This is no benign stepmother. This is Cinderella's stepmother," he said. As per the will, Jethmalani said, Priya Kapur and her minor son have control of nearly 75 per cent share of the trust, while Samaira and Kiaan are left with 26 per cent.
Power struggle over Sona Comstar: Quick Recap
{{/usCountry}}The inheritance battle began just a month after Sona Comstar chairperson Sunjay Kapur's death in London. His mother, Rani Kapur, had in July cited a 2015 will and claimed to be the sole beneficiary of the estate of her late husband company founder Surinder Kapur
Sunjay Kapur inheritance battle hearing | Top points
- 'Errors in will': Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani submitted before the HC that the address of Sunjay Kapur's daughter is wrongly mentioned in the will, and his son's name is misspelt. "Sunjay Kapoor knows her address. This is an office address of Karisma Kapoor. These kind of bloopers are very uncharacteristic of Mr Kapoor. He had a very good relationship with his children. How can he have written his daughter's address wrong and misspelled his son's name in multiple places in the will," the counsel said.
- ‘Will is so casual’: Samaira and Kiaan's counsel further said that if Kapur's will was being modified, then there were far more elementary things that needed modification. "This will demeans the late Sunjay Kapur. It is so casual. There were glaring errors in this will," Jethamalani said.ALSO READ | 'Nothing left in banks': Big charge by Karisma's kids in father Sunjay Kapur's estate battle
- ‘Will forged’: During the previous hearing, the children told the HC that it was highly suspicious that a well-educated man like their father would not inform the will's executor that she had been appointed as an executor. Their counsel also said that the will does not mention details of various assets, including crypto assets, jewellery, etc. "This is not a will which Sunjay Kapur had prepared, read or made," Mahesh Jethmalani told the court. He added, “This can only be done by the beneficiary of the will, to prevent any challenges...Only one person was given the benefits. If this will is a forgery, then only one person could have forged it.”
- ‘Something very secretive’: Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani submitted that the first Word file of the Will, prepared on February 10, 2025, was on one Nitin Sharma's device, LiveLaw reported. He said that it contradicts the logic that Sunjay Kapur, while on a holiday with his son, was modifying a will that was stored on Sharma's device. "We don't know the contents of the document. There is an apparent contradiction in their case. At the bottom of the file, it is stated that 'this file came from another computer and might be blocked. So the source is unclear. Something is very secretive about this will," he added. Jethmalani further said that Kapur's purported will was modified on March 17, and it remains unclear who made the modification, adding that the will was then executed on March 21 and again on March 24.ALSO READ | Sunjay Kapur inheritance case: Delhi HC allows Priya Kapur to file asset details in sealed cover
- ‘Move from emails to WhatsApp’: The children's counsel said that on a WhatsApp group with Sunjay and Priya Kapur, and Dinesh Agarwal, the will was sent as a PDF and its name was changed twice. "Two wills were being simultaneously prepared of husband and wife. These were not mutual will, so they have to be explained," he added. He submitted that there is no group chat name or phone numbers on Dinesh's phone, and that the document "SK Will" was only seen, not read, LiveLaw reported. "This is an ominously uncertified document. It is surprising they moved from emails to WhatsApp chats. He certifies only the emails and not the WhatsApp chats," Jethmalani said.
- 'No lawyer drafted the will': Karisma Kapoor's children's counsel described the case as one where almost every possible "suspicious" circumstance is present. He submitted that "no lawyer drafted the will. A layman witness was taken. The contents of the will are so ridiculous".ALSO READ | ₹30000 crore inheritance drama explained">Why did Sunjay Kapur not leave first wife Nandita Mahtani anything in his will? ₹30000 crore inheritance drama explained
- Previous hearing: During the last hearing of the case, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani alleged that Priya Kapur was in a hurry to appropriate Sunjay Kapur's assets soon after his death. She intended to restrict the children's share to 26 per cent and to appropriate the rest to herself. "Therein lies the veneer. This is no benign stepmother. This is Cinderella's stepmother," he said. As per the will, Jethmalani said, Priya Kapur and her minor son have control of nearly 75 per cent share of the trust, while Samaira and Kiaan are left with 26 per cent.
Power struggle over Sona Comstar: Quick Recap
{{/usCountry}}⦁ 53-year-old industrialist Sunjay Kapur died on June 12 due to a heart attack in London. The power struggle over his company, Sona Comstar, and other personal assets began nearly a month after his passing, embroiling the Kapur family in a major legal battle.
⦁ Days after his death, Sona Comstar unanimously appointed Jeffrey Mark Overly as the chairman and Sunjay's wife, Priya Sachdev Kapur, as a non-executive director.
⦁ Sunjay Kapur's mother, Rani Kapur, had earlier cited a 2015 will and claimed to be the sole beneficiary of the estate. She claimed that she was being coerced into signing certain documents without revealing their content.
⦁ Rani Kapur accused Soma Comstar of exploiting the moment to "wrest control and usurp the family legacy". She said that she still didn't know what happened to her son, adding that she needed closure.
⦁ A legal battle is ongoing in the court, involving Sunjay Kapur and Karisma's kids, Samaira and Kiaan, and his wife Priya Kapur and her minor son, and his mother Rani Kapur.
⦁ In this case, which has seen several ups and downs in the past three months, the Delhi High Court last month allowed Priya Kapur to file Sunjay Kapur's list of assets in a sealed cover. It told the counsels to ensure that the contents would not be leaked to the media. Priya Kapur was also directed to share a copy of the will with Rani Kapur.
⦁ Additionally, Priya Kapur informed the court that Samaira and Kiaan have already received ₹1,900 crore from the family trust. The children's counsel hit out at Priya Kapur, saying that by making such an information public, she has made the two children target of kidnapping.