Mandhira Kapur (left), Sunjay Kapur & Karisma Kapoor family

Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; September 12, 2025)

The fight over late businessman Sunjay Kapur’s Rs. 30,000 crore estate has landed in the Delhi High Court, with his and Karisma Kapoor’s children, Samaira and Kiaan, challenging a will that excludes them. At the centre of the dispute is a will that no one other than Priya has seen yet.

Lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the siblings, told the court that the will cuts the two children out of their father’s fortune, is unregistered, and that the circumstances surrounding its discovery are suspicious.

On the other side, Priya Sachdev Kapur, Sunjay Kapur’s wife, represented by Rajiv Nayar, has argued that the case itself is “not maintainable” and reminded the court that an unregistered will is not automatically invalid. Nayar also referred to the bitter divorce between Karisma and Sunjay, adding that she was “nowhere to be seen” after the split. He further told the court that assets worth Rs. 1,900 crore have already been transferred to the siblings. The court has asked for replies to be filed. 

Rs. 10,000 cr worth of assets should be mine: Rani Kapur via lawyer
Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, who appeared for Sunjay Kapur’s mother Rani Kapur, told the court that she too has been left without anything.

“I have written at least 15 emails asking about the will, what are the documents? Not a word has been shared. I have been told that my emails have been compromised. There is something incredibly unholy. Rs. 10,000 crore worth of assets should have been mine. I am 80-year-old,” he told the court.

There is nothing secret about the will: Priya’s lawyer
“I have a 6-year-old child. I am a widow. I am his last wife. There is nothing secret about the will. I have said that I will share it, but they will have to share a non-disclosure. It’s been disclosed to the court… All this crying and weeping that is going on. Just six days before the suit, the plaintiffs received Rs. 1,900 crore from the trust,” Rajiv Nayar, who appeared for Priya Sachdev Kapur, told the court.

What happened​
​Karisma Kapoor, who is representing her children, moved the court saying the children have been wrongfully excluded from Sunjay Kapur’s estate. The siblings have accused stepmother Priya Sachdev Kapur, who is Sunjay’s third wife, of forging his will and trying to gain total control of the assets.

This will is not registered, says Karisma’s lawyer
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for the Karisma Kapoor’s children, said in the court, “The father (Sunjay Kapur) was meticulous in securing the properties of the children. It is a fact that this will is not registered. So we have a document that suddenly comes up, and the most surprising (thing) is that the children are totally left out. We have asked for the disclosure of the assets of the father as well… Why is it suspicious? It’s because this will was not disclosed to us. What has triggered this suit is that all along the plaintiffs were told that there was no will. Some of the property is held by a trust… This goes beyond reason, because the person who disclosed that a will exists is also an employee of the company.”
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Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; September 13, 2025)

New details keep emerging every day in the battle over inheritance of Sunjay Kapur’s assets reportedly worth Rs. 30,000 crore. According to news reports, the new records submitted in the Delhi High Court claim that Sunjay was facilitating Portuguese citizenship for Karisma Kapoor and their two children, Samaira and Kiaan. Lawyers representing the children argue that the will dated March 2025, which disinherits the kids, is suspicious because “at the end of May this year, which is supposed to be two months after the will was executed, Sunjay was trying to get Portuguese citizenship certainly for his children, and possibly for Karisma.”

According to the lawyers, Sunjay was considering Portuguese citizenship for his two children since properties held overseas would be exempt from inheritance tax, as Portugal does not have such a regime. This, they contend, would have saved all three of his children from inheritance tax liabilities.

‘If you shout, you’ll get paid back in the same coin’
A clip showing a heated exchange between Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing Karisma’s children, and Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Priya Sachdev Kapur, was widely shared on social media, where both lawyers were seen shouting at each other.

When Rajiv Nayar said to Jethmalani, “Don’t interrupt me,” Jethmalani retorted, “You should get a taste of your own medicine then, and do not shout at me! Have some courtesy to the counsel. If you shout you’ll get paid back in the same coin.”

They argue that if Sunjay was discussing Portuguese citizenship in May 2025 to protect his children from such liabilities, it is surprising that just two months earlier, in March 2025, he had signed a will leaving all overseas properties to Priya Sachdev Kapur and none to his children.

What happened
The Delhi High Court said on Friday that it will correct its order in the ongoing legal dispute over Sunjay Kapur’s estate, as it had mistakenly noted that lawyers for his sister, Mandhira Kapur, were present. Priya Kapur and her young son are named as the main defendants in the suit and Priya requested the court to correct the record, arguing that Mandhira had never formally joined the case.

Background
During a September 10 hearing, the High Court had directed Priya Kapur to submit a list of all of her late husband’s assets, both movable and immovable. The written order from that hearing also noted the presence of lawyers for Mandhira Kapur. The case is from a petition filed by actor Karisma Kapoor’s two children, who are seeking a share in their father Sunjay Kapur’s estate.