New Delhi, 07 May (H.S.):

The Supreme Court has appointed former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud as mediator to resolve the dispute between Rani Kapur and Priya Kapur over the Sona Group family trust. Justice JB Pardiwala's bench issued this order.

In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court had advised settling the dispute through mutual dialogue. Today, all parties expressed consent to the court's suggestion, leading to this decision. The Supreme Court cautioned all parties against making statements to media or posting on social media regarding the dispute.

The court will hear the matter further in August after receiving the mediator's interim report.

Court's Earlier Observation

On April 27, the court had stated that prolonging this inheritance battle serves no purpose for an 80-year-old litigant. This is not the age to fight. Go for mediation once and for all, the court observed.

Late businessman Sanjay Kapur's mother Rani Kapur seeks dissolution of the family RK Family Trust. Her petition claims the trust's formation and management raise serious questions. Rani Kapur alleges the RK Family Trust was created without her knowledge or consent, excluding her from the trust. All trust properties belonged to her, yet she received no information during its formation. She states she suffered a heart stroke at the time, was in poor health, and signatures were obtained on trust documents without her understanding their content—some even on blank papers.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar