This sounds more like a Bollywood thriller than real life now. The luxurious corridors of the Sona Group empire are now echoing with courtroom drama, secret trusts, and allegations of betrayal. Rani Kapur, the widow of late industrialist Dr Surinder Kapur and mother of the late Sunjay Kapur, has moved the Delhi High Court against her own daughter-in-law Priya Kapur, accusing her of orchestrating a multi-year scheme to seize control of the family fortune.
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“My life, my legacy, stolen”
At the center of the storm is Rani Kapur herself, now an octogenarian and a super senior citizen, who claims that Priya Kapur colluded with other family members to create a fraudulent trust, the so-called “RK Family Trust” or “Rani Kapur Family Trust” to unlawfully divert the family estate.
The suit alleges that this trust, supposedly created on October 26, 2017, is illegal, void, and the product of fraud, forgery, and undue influence.
Rani Kapur has demanded that the court not only nullify this trust but also restore her assets, enforce full accounting of all transactions since 2017, and stop the defendants from exercising any control over her companies, bank accounts, or digital signatures.
A family empire in her hands… until now
The late Dr Surinder Kapur, founder of the Sona Group, had been meticulous about his estate. His will executed on February 6, 2013. It left his entire movable and immovable property including controlling stakes in Sona Group companies exclusively to his wife Rani Kapur. The will was officially probated in January 2016 with no objections from their three children including Sunjay.
Yet according to lawsuit, their family harmony crumbled after Rani Kapur suffered stroke in September of 2017. This left her physically and emotionally dependent on her son and his third wife Priya.
It is during this vulnerable period that the widow alleges the defendants secretly diverted her assets into the RK Family Trust, stripping her of control and benefit.
Two trusts already in place. So why a third?
Rani Kapur asserts she had already set up two legitimate trusts in 2016, the Dr SK Family Trust and the MK Family Trust, transparent estate-planning vehicles where she remained the settlor and principal beneficiary.
The RK Family Trust, in contrast, allegedly excluded her entirely from benefiting or exercising control.
The widow claims she first became suspicious of the RK Family Trust in 2019, when she began hearing mentions of it. She says she was repeatedly misled into believing it was merely another name for her earlier trusts.
Only in 2023, during an intellectual property dispute involving Sona Group entities, did documents surface indicating that her rights had, in fact, been transferred to her son via a separate trust.
Trust deed under fire
Rani Kapur alleges she was never shown copy of trust deed while Sunjay was alive. Following his death in June 2025, she managed to secure some photocopies of trust from third-party sources later that year.
She claims that the two versions differ materially in signatures and stamps.
A forensic examination cited in the lawsuit reportedly reveals that initials on RK Family Trust underwent forgery and do not match her actual signatures. Under the alleged trust structure, Sunjay was the sole lifetime beneficiary with benefits subsequently flowing to Priya Kapur and her children completely excluding Rani Kapur and her daughters.
Swift moves after tragedy
The timing of the alleged maneuvers adds another layer of drama. Within days of Sunjay Kapur’s death, Priya Kapur reportedly moved quickly to secure key managerial and board positions in core Sona Group companies.
The suit claims she did so without informing the widow.
Further allegations include deliberate efforts to cut off Rani Kapur’s access to company communications. According to the suit, the defendants falsely claimed that her email was under compromise and even created a fictitious email address in her name to validate trust-related actions without her knowledge.
What Rani Kapur wants now
Rani Kapur’s legal team has asked the Delhi High Court for sweeping relief. They want nullification of the RK Family Trust and all actions taken under it, cancellation of statutory filings made under the benami law regime and full accounting of assets and transactions since 2017. They have also demanded restitution of all assets and shareholdings to their pre-trust positions. In addition, they demand multiple injunctions preventing defendants from using her bank accounts, digital signatures, or representing themselves as trustees or beneficiaries
In her plaint, Rani Kapur claims the entire episode bases on fraud, forgery, and abuse of trust. She has asked the court to restore not just her estate but the family legacy, framing the allegations as part of a calculated conspiracy to dispossess a super senior citizen of her rightful inheritance.