Imagine losing your entire family legacy, not to a business rival, but to those closest to you. That's the heart-wrenching reality Rani Kapur, the mother of the late Sunjay Kapur and widow of Dr. Surinder Kapur (founder of the Sona Group), claims she's facing. She's taken her fight to the Delhi High Court, alleging a calculated scheme by her daughter-in-law, Priya Kapur, and other family members to seize control of her vast estate and the Sona Group itself.
At the center of this inheritance battle is a trust – the "RK Family Trust" – which Rani Kapur believes is fraudulent. She alleges it was created without her informed consent, essentially robbing her of what rightfully belongs to her. In a detailed civil suit, Rani Kapur, who is over 80 years old, is asking the court to declare this trust null and void, claiming it's a product of deceit, forgery, and undue influence. She's also requesting the court to order the winding up of the trust, a full accounting of all funds, the return of her assets, and legal injunctions to prevent the defendants from benefiting from what she believes is an illegitimate trust.
Here's the background: When Dr. Surinder Kapur passed away in June 2015, he left his entire estate, including his shares in the Sona Group, to his wife, Rani Kapur, through a will executed in 2013. This will was officially recognized by the court in January 2016, and none of their three children, including Sunjay Kapur, raised any objections.
But here's where it gets controversial... Rani Kapur alleges that after suffering a stroke in September 2017, her health declined, making her emotionally dependent on her son, Sunjay, and his wife, Priya. She claims they exploited her vulnerable state to secretly transfer her assets into the RK Family Trust, without her fully understanding or agreeing to it. This is a serious accusation, suggesting a breach of trust within a family already grieving the loss of a patriarch.
And this is the part most people miss... Rani Kapur had already established two trusts in 2016, the Dr. SK Family Trust and the MK Family Trust, as a transparent way to manage her estate. In these trusts, she was both the settlor (the person creating the trust) and the primary beneficiary (the person who benefits from the trust). She contends that the RK Family Trust, unlike her own, was created without her retaining any control or even being named as a beneficiary!
Suspicion about the RK Family Trust arose in 2019 when Rani Kapur started hearing about it. She claims she was repeatedly told it was just another name for her original trusts and that she still owned and controlled everything. It wasn't until 2023, during an intellectual property dispute involving Sona Group companies, that documents surfaced suggesting she had given up her rights to her son through this new trust. Despite asking for a copy of the trust deed, she says she never received one during Sunjay Kapur's lifetime. After his sudden death in June 2025, she managed to obtain copies from third parties and alleges that the versions contain different signatures and stamps, indicating possible tampering.
The suit alleges that a forensic examination has revealed that the initials on the trust deed attributed to Rani Kapur are forgeries. The trust, she claims, was designed to benefit Sunjay Kapur for his lifetime, and then primarily Priya Kapur and her children, completely excluding Rani Kapur and her daughters and their families. This raises serious questions about the intentions behind the trust's creation. Was this a genuine attempt at estate planning, or a calculated move to disinherit Rani Kapur and her other children?
Serious allegations are leveled against Priya Kapur. According to the lawsuit, just days after Sunjay Kapur's death, while the family was still mourning, Priya Kapur allegedly moved swiftly to secure key positions on the boards and in the management of core Sona Group companies, without informing or getting consent from Rani Kapur. This, the suit claims, shows a deliberate attempt to consolidate control. This is a bold claim that paints a picture of opportunism during a time of profound grief.
Furthermore, Rani Kapur accuses the defendants of cutting off her access to company information by falsely claiming her email account was compromised and creating a fake email address in her name to validate trust-related actions without her knowledge. This is a serious allegation, suggesting a deliberate attempt to deceive and isolate Rani Kapur.
Through this legal action, Rani Kapur is seeking to invalidate the trust deed and all actions taken under it, cancel statutory filings, dissolve the RK Family Trust, obtain a full accounting of funds from 2017 onwards, restore all assets and shareholding to their original state, and prevent the defendants from operating trust bank accounts, using digital signatures in her name, creating third-party rights, or claiming to be trustees or beneficiaries of the trust.
Describing the situation as a story of fraud, forgery, and betrayal, Rani Kapur is asking the court to restore her estate and family legacy, arguing that the alleged actions are a calculated conspiracy to dispossess an elderly widow and senior citizen of her life's assets and rightful inheritance. This case raises important questions about family dynamics, inheritance rights, and the potential for abuse within trusts.
What do you think? Is this a clear case of elder abuse and fraudulent activity, or is there another side to the story? Could there be legitimate reasons for the creation of the RK Family Trust that haven't been revealed yet? And what responsibility do family members have to protect the interests of their aging parents and grandparents? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
