Can’t sell Sanjay Kapur assets till doubt over will cleared: Delhi HC to Priya in relief to Karishma’s children

Sunjay’s children with actor Karisma Kapoor —  Samaira and Kiaan — have been locked in a legal battle, primarily with Priya Kapur, over the inheritance of the personal assets of the former Sona Comstar chairman, claiming their share as Class-1 or immediate heirs.  The children are asserting their share of one-fifth of the movable and immovable assets, each.

The children, as well as Sunjay’s mother, Rani Kapur, have raised suspicions over the validity of Sunjay’s will, as was furnished by Priya following his death in the United Kingdom, on June 12, 2025, after suffering a heart attack during a polo match.

On Thursday, the bench of Justice Jyoti Singh ruled in favour of the two children, disposing of an application in the suit by them, seeking that no third-party rights be created in the assets pending a final decision in the suit.

Since suspicions have been raised over the alleged will, Justice Singh ruled, the onus will be on Priya to remove such suspicions, which will be a subject matter of trial.  Only after the alleged suspicious circumstances are removed, shall the document propounded as Sunjay’s will, shall be accepted as his “last will”.

However, given that the trial may take some time, the court held that “assets should not be dissipated” pending disposal of the suit.

“It is therefore imperative that the assets of the deceased are preserved until disposal of the suit. It needs no reiteration that if the assets are not preserved and dissipate, and if tomorrow (Priya) fails to prove the validity and genuineness of the alleged will at the end of the trial, plaintiffs (Samiara and Kiaan) and (Rani Kapur) will be deprived of their legitimate shares as Class-1 heirs,” the High Court underlined.

To this effect, the High Court restrained Priya from alienating, transferring, pledging, liquidating or in any other manner changing the equity or shareholdings in the three Indian companies.

The High Court also restrained Priya from withdrawing from the provident fund, which was consented to by her. The court further restrained her  from alienating the personal effects such as artworks, jewellery and watches, which too was consented to by Priya.

Earlier, Karisma’s children had pointed out that some of Sunjay’s bank accounts were closed after his death and as per Priya, his bank accounts were a total worth of Rs 1.72 crore despite drawing a salary of Rs 60 crore as salary in a  single year from Aureus Investments Private Limited (AIPL), which holds 28% shares and is the corporate promoter of Sona Comstar.

Among the late businessman’s personal assets, which are a part of the inheritance dispute, are an apartment in New York and another immovable asset in London. Additionally, there is Sunjay’s demat and bank accounts, artworks and crypto investments, apart from residuary estate, which also form part of his personal assets.

The High Court, however, has made it clear that it does not have jurisdiction to issue any order on the foreign immovable assets.