New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stall a proposed board meeting of Raghuvanshi Investment Private Limited (RIPL) in the high-profile RK Family Trust dispute involving Rani Kapur and Priya Sachdev Kapur, but restrained the company from taking up agenda items relating to the appointment of independent directors and changes in authorised bank signatories during the meeting.  A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the direction while hearing a fresh plea moved by 80-year-old Rani Kapur, mother of late businessman Sunjay Kapur, who had sought a stay on the board meeting scheduled for May 18. At the outset, the apex court observed that since the dispute had already been referred to mediation, the parties should refrain from taking any steps which may directly impact the mediation proceedings. “We have already requested the mediator to start with the mediation proceedings. For the present, we request the opponents not to do anything which may directly affect mediation. Time and again, we have said it will be in the interest of all parties to put an end to this dispute, else it will be a long drawn battle,” the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench observed. 

Appearing on behalf of Rani Kapur, senior advocate Navin Pahwa argued that the proposed board meeting was intended to ensure that she is “completely drowned out” from the affairs of the family-controlled entities. Referring to the dispute over the family estate, it was argued that Rani Kapur’s majority shareholding in the group companies had allegedly been transferred into a trust without her consent. “My shareholding was transferred into the trust behind my back. I was holding the majority shares in all the companies. My daughter-in-law transferred my shareholding into a trust,” the senior counsel submitted on behalf of Rani Kapur. On the other hand, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the respondents, including Priya Sachdev Kapur and RIPL, submitted that the appointment of independent directors was being undertaken pursuant to directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) following an inspection. 

Sibal argued that the proposed board meeting was convened primarily to comply with statutory and regulatory obligations and not with an intention to alter the status quo during the mediation process. Taking note of the submissions, the apex court clarified that while the board meeting itself may proceed, agenda items concerning the appointment of independent directors and the change in authorised signatories for certain bank accounts need not be acted upon for now. It repeatedly urged the parties to sincerely attempt an amicable settlement and cautioned against converting the family dispute into prolonged litigation. “She is an 80-year-old woman. We all came with empty hands, and we have to go with empty hands. All we carry is our souls. There has to be a will to settle the matter. Don’t go before the mediator with a heavy heart just because the court has pushed you. Each one of you try,” the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench observed during the hearing. 

The latest plea arose from a notice dated May 8 issued by RIPL convening a board meeting on May 18. Rani Kapur had described the meeting as a “fraudulent attempt to bypass court-ordered mediation” and sought directions restraining the company from proceeding with the meeting till the mediation proceedings conclude. She had also sought directions restraining Priya Sachdev Kapur and other respondents from interfering in the functioning of the alleged RK Family Trust during the pendency of the mediation proceedings. The disputed agenda items included the appointment of two independent directors and changes in authorised signatories for certain bank accounts. Earlier on May 7, the Supreme Court had appointed former Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud as mediator to resolve the ongoing family dispute between Rani Kapur and Priya Sachdev Kapur over the alleged RK Family Trust. A Bench of Justices Pardiwala and Bhuyan had passed the order after all parties agreed to explore a settlement through mediation. 

Observing that the controversy was a “family affair”, the apex court had requested the parties not to make public statements or social media posts concerning the dispute. “It’s a family dispute; let it be confined among the family only. It should not be a source of entertainment,” the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench had orally remarked. The apex court had said that it would await a preliminary report from the mediator before taking up the matter further and posted the case for hearing in August. The dispute pertains to the creation and control of the alleged RK Family Trust/Rani Kapur Family Trust, which has been challenged by Rani Kapur as fraudulent and illegal. According to the plea, Rani Kapur is the sole beneficiary of the estate of her late husband, industrialist Dr Surinder Kapur, who allegedly bequeathed all movable and immovable properties to her through a will probated by the Bombay High Court in 2016. Rani Kapur has alleged that despite this, the family estate was clandestinely transferred into a newly created trust without her informed consent, and that control over key group companies was assumed without her knowledge following the death of her son Sunjay Kapur. 

/IANS