Claiming that the bank accounts of late Sona Comstar chairman Sunjay Kapur, a multimillionaire, had only Rs 1.7 crore left following his death, his mother Rani Kapur on Monday alleged before the Delhi High Court that his wife Priya Sachdev Kapur has potentially moved the money across borders.
The submission, made through senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, Rani’s lawyer, comes amid a high-stakes inheritance battle over the late businessman’s personal estate in a suit by his children with actor Karisma Kapoor — Samaira and Kiaan — with his third wife Priya.
Supporting the children’s contention over the will propounded being suspicious, Rani countered Priya’s earlier submission that Sunjay had not left Karisma’s children anything from his personal estate since they received Rs 1,900 crore worth of shares from the RK Trust (family trust with Rani being the settlor).
“It is not for him (Sunjay) to bequeath (from the trust)…so this entire thing to say there’s fairness in the will is wrong….he couldn’t have under law, and he has not given it…The Rs 1,900 cr worth of shares being transferred, it was not for Ms Sachdev (Priya) to give, couldn’t have been and it could not have been for Mr Sunjay to give…I being the settler of the trust, and the sole beneficiary is (in charge of the trust’s control).”
Karisma’s children, who through their suit, is claiming their share as Class-1 or immediate heirs, has found an ally in Rani, who told Justice Jyoti Singh, “The entire legacy (of Sona Comstar) belonged to only Mrs Rani Kapur (whose now deceased husband Surinder Kapur had founded the company). An 80-year old lady is being told today that today she has absolutely no ownership in the company built by her husband. I’m supporting the plaintiffs (Samaira and Kiaan) entirely.”
Sunjay died in June due to cardiac arrest during a polo match in the United Kingdom. Samaira and Kiaan have raised suspicions over the genuineness of the will, purportedly propounded by Sunjay, which left the personal assets primarily to Priya and her children.
Further, countering justifications provided by Priya earlier that spelling mistakes in the names of Sunjay’s children in his will were owing to copying the will template of Surinder and Rani, and that it has been a tradition in the Kapur family of bequeathing through wills, Rani submitted, “The difference between the two situations was, we (Rani and Surinder) were married for 40 years, it was the sole marriage, there were no disputes, no divorce proceedings between us and we built this together. I had just three children from the same marriage, who lived with me….they were living in my house in Rajokri, which I’ve not been able to enter since June…My will was duly (registered and) probated (which is not the case with Sunjaay’s will, which was not registered)…How can you compare the two– their marriage was for 7 years. Mr (Surinder) Kapur’s will was registered, this will is not registered.”
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It was also 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.
The market cap of Sona Comstar is close to Rs 30,000 crore — 72% of its shares are held by the public, and 28% (Rs 8,200 crore) are held by AIPL
It was also added that there has been “suppression” of Sunjay’s assets by Priya since assets such as mutual funds, life insurance, and rental incomes have not been included in the will. Rani also claimed that three drawers full of luxury watches including Rolex, and artworks owned by Sunjay too have not been declared.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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