The Supreme Court has sought Karisma Kapoor’s response to Priya Kapur’s plea for certified copies of the 2016 divorce records with late Sunjay Kapur. Karisma’s lawyers have termed the request “frivolous and intrusive,” arguing that the matter was settled years ago and the documents are confidential and already available with Priya Kapur.
New Delhi: Actor Karisma Kapoor has strongly opposed an application filed before the Supreme Court of India seeking certified copies of records relating to her divorce proceedings with late industrialist Sunjay Kapur, which were conclusively settled and disposed of in 2016.
The matter was heard in chambers by Justice AS Chandurkar, who issued notice on the application and granted Karisma Kapoor two weeks’ time to file her reply.
At the very outset, Karisma Kapoor’s counsel, advocates Ravi Sharma and Apoorv Shukla, objected to the maintainability of the application, terming it frivolous and legally untenable.
They submitted that the plea appeared to be an attempt to reopen and dig into confidential family court proceedings that had attained finality nearly a decade ago. It was emphasised that matrimonial proceedings are treated with strict confidentiality and cannot be casually accessed, especially by a third party.
The lawyers appearing for Karisma Kapoor further pointed out that the consent terms and the divorce decree were already in the possession of the applicant, Priya Kapur. In this background, it was argued that seeking the entire court record served no genuine legal purpose and was unnecessary.
Taking note of these submissions, the Supreme Court refrained from passing any interim order and directed Karisma Kapoor’s counsel to place their objections on record by filing a detailed reply within two weeks.
The application has been filed by Priya Kapur, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh along with advocate Smriti Asmita, and was instituted through advocate Vagisha Kochar.
Priya Kapur has sought certified copies of the complete record of a transfer petition filed by Sunjay Kapur in 2016,
“including the petition, all annexures, orders, notings, settlement agreements and applications”.
The transfer petition had sought shifting of the divorce case between Sunjay Kapur and Karisma Kapoor from Mumbai to Delhi. During the pendency of that petition, the former spouses settled all their disputes, and the divorce proceedings were concluded by mutual consent.
The present plea has been linked to an ongoing inheritance dispute before the Delhi High Court concerning Sunjay Kapur’s estate. Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur’s two children have alleged that Priya Kapur forged Sunjay Kapur’s will and attempted to gain complete control over his assets.
Priya Kapur has denied these allegations, calling the claims “bogus” and asserting the validity of the will.
From Karisma Kapoor’s side, it has been consistently maintained that the divorce proceedings were lawfully concluded, acted upon by all concerned parties, and have no bearing on the present succession dispute.
Her opposition highlights that reopening settled matrimonial records, particularly when the core documents are already available with the applicant, undermines the confidentiality attached to family court proceedings and sets an unhealthy precedent.
The Supreme Court will examine Karisma Kapoor’s objections once her reply is filed, after which it will consider whether any further access to the long-concluded divorce records is legally justified.
Background of the Case
The personal estate dispute of late industrialist Sunjay Kapur has been pending before the Delhi High Court for several months and forms the background to the ongoing inheritance battle within his family. The case involves conflicting claims by his widow, Priya Sachdev Kapur, his mother Rani Kapur, and his children from his earlier marriage with actor Karisma Kapoor, namely Samaira Kapur and Kiaan Raj Kapur.
The dispute began after Sunjay Kapur’s children and his mother approached the High Court alleging that the will relied upon by Priya Kapur was forged.
They challenged its validity and claimed that it does not reflect Sunjay Kapur’s true intentions regarding his multi-million-dollar personal estate. As part of the civil proceedings, they sought an interim injunction to prevent Priya Kapur from dealing with or managing the estate until the issue is finally decided.
During the hearings, Priya Kapur denied all allegations of forgery and concealment of assets, while Sunjay Kapur’s mother questioned the disclosure of his income and bank balances.
Previously, Priya Kapur’s son challenged the authenticity of the will purportedly belonging to their father, opposing the claims made by Karisma Kapoor’s children and asserting that their challenge was founded on “speculation and guesswork.”
Earlier, On November 20, Priya Kapur informed the High Court that it is a customary practice for a husband to leave all his assets to his wife, countering the assertion made by Karisma Kapoor’s children that their father’s alleged will emerged under questionable circumstances.
The High Court had previously allowed Priya Sachdev Kapur to file a list of Sunjay Kapur’s movable and immovable assets in a sealed envelope.
Justice Jyoti Singh was reviewing her request to submit these asset details confidentially, along with a commitment that neither party would share this information with the media.
Read More Reports On Sunjay Kapur
