New Delhi/Mumbai: The Supreme Court’s decision to send the high-profile Kapur family dispute over late Sona Comstar chairman Sunjay Kapur’s estimated ₹30,000-crore estate to mediation under former chief justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has drawn attention to how Indian courts are handling promoter-family battles outside traditional courtroom litigation.
Mint explains whether mediation can really solve inheritance battles that carry financial and emotional stakes, and how mediation works in high-profile family business disputes.
What is the Kapur family dispute?
The inheritance battle emerged last year after Sunjay Kapur, the then chairman of Sona Comstar, one of India’s largest automotive technology and EV component makers, died following a heart attack.
Sunjay Kapur’s children – Samaira and Kiaan – from his earlier marriage to actor Karisma Kapoor, moved the Delhi High Court, challenging a will that allegedly left his entire estate to his widow, Priya Kapur. They sought a one-fifth share each in their father’s personal estate and claimed they were repeatedly denied access to the will.
How does mediation work?
Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in which a neutral mediator helps parties negotiate a settlement rather than litigate the matter in a full court trial. India broadly has court-referred mediation, institutional mediation, private mediation, pre-litigation mediation and online mediation. Under the Mediation Act, 2023, mediated settlements can receive legal enforceability.
A 2016 report by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy found that out of nearly 46,000 court-referred mediation cases, about 41,503 were family disputes. More than 25,000 family law matters were referred to mediation between 2011 and 2015
“The process typically starts from identifying the core disputes and stakeholders and moves to confidential negotiations around governance, succession, ownership and control structures,” said Jayati Chitale, partner at Chitale & Chitale Partners. “What is important is that mediation is flexible and interest-based rather than strictly adjudicatory.”
Why did the Supreme Court push mediation?
The Supreme Court bench of justices J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan, on 7 May, referred the dispute to mediation under former D.Y. Chandrachud and sought an interim report from the mediator.
According to the court, the inheritance battle risked turning into a long, emotionally exhausting and public family conflict. The bench urged the parties to approach mediation with an open mind and observed that prolonged litigation would only deepen divisions within the family. The court noted that Rani Kapur is 80 years old and “this is not the age” for her to continue fighting such a bitter legal battle.
Lawyers say courts increasingly favour mediation in promoter-family disputes because prolonged litigation can damage both business value and family relationships.
“It has become quite common for Indian courts to encourage or refer promoter-family disputes to mediation at an early stage,” said H.S. Bhullar, founder of Bhullar Law Firm.
Can mediation actually work?
One of the high-stakes corporate family disputes being resolved through settlement and mediation was the 2005 Ambani family split. Though not a formal court-ordered mediation, the conflict between Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani over control of the Reliance empire was resolved through a private negotiation by their mother, Kokilaben Ambani.
In 2025, the apex court referred the feud between GreatWhite promoters Mehul Shah and Hemang Shah to mediation before retired Supreme Court judge Justice A.S. Oka. Last year, real-estate brothers Abhishek Lodha and Abhinandan Lodha resolved their dispute over the “Lodha” brand through mediation before former Supreme Court judge Justice R.V. Raveendran.
Mediation does not always succeed. In 2022, attempts to settle the Kirloskar family feud through mediation eventually failed.
What makes mediation succeed or fail?
“The success of mediation depends on trust, timing, disclosure and authority to settle. The biggest challenge is mistrust,” said Rishabh Gandhi, founder of Rishabh Gandhi and Advocates. “The breakthrough moment in mediation is rarely legal. It is usually psychological.”
Emotional factors often make family disputes difficult to resolve, said Neeha Nagpal, managing partner at N&Company Legal. “Mediation, in my experience, is only successful in any kind of family dispute when both sides let go of their hurt egos.”