Delhi court issues notice to Sunjay Kapur’s sister in Priya Kapur defamation case
A Delhi court has issued notice to Mandhira Kapur Smith, sister of late businessman Sunjay Kapur, in a defamation case filed by his wife Priya Kapur, who has accused her of circulating false and defamatory content on social media.
A Delhi court has issued notice to Mandhira Kapur Smith in a defamation case filed by Priya Kapur over alleged false and damaging social media posts. (Image via Instagram)
A Delhi court on Wednesday issued notice to late businessman Sunjay Kapur’s sister, Mandhira Kapur Smith, in a defamation case filed by his wife, Priya Kapur. Priya has accused Mandhira of circulating videos on social media containing “false allegations” against her, allegedly with the intent to “cause social ostracism”.
The notice followed Priya Kapur’s appearance before the court to submit pre-summoning evidence. She had sought in camera proceedings, which were allowed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Siddhant Sihag of the Patiala House Court.
Sunjay, who was at the helm of auto parts giant Sona Comstar, died of a heart attack on June 12 last year, triggering a legal battle between his family members over control of his assets.
“Following the death of Sunjay Kapur in June last year, the accused persons made multiple allegations against Priya Kapur which were false, derogatory, concocted and defamatory,” said senior advocate Maninder Singh — appearing for Priya — while addressing media persons after the court hearing.
“It was said that Priya is indulging in a conspiracy and she wants to usurp everything. Both she and her child were defamed. Priya has told the court that she realised that Mandhira’s dispute with Sunjay is very old,” he added.
In her complaint, Priya has alleged that Mandhira repeatedly uploaded and circulated videos and posts on social media targeting her with “false allegations and accusatory insinuations designed to cause hatred, ridicule and social ostracism; thereby demolishing the reputation of the complainant in the eyes of the general public and in business circles”.
She has also claimed that in a podcast, Mandhira made repeated insinuations suggesting that Priya’s marriage to Sunjay was troubled, manipulative and undeserving of legitimacy.
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Priya is currently engaged in an inheritance battle against Mandhira and other members of Sunjay’s family, including his second wife, actor Karisma Kapoor.
Meanwhile, Priya’s counsel alleged that Mandhira had earlier launched legal attacks against Sunjay, including filing proceedings seeking to stall his company’s initial public offering (IPO).
According to the complaint, Mandhira’s comments portrayed Priya as “self-appointed”, “unqualified” and “illegitimate” in her professional roles, along with insinuations of improper control over assets and influence within the family and corporate structures. These assertions, Priya’s counsel alleged, were designed to irreversibly damage her reputation in business, society and the media.
The matter is listed for next hearing on March 12.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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