The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday said it was encouraged by the progress made in mediation proceedings aimed at resolving the dispute over the Kapur family trust and the estate of late industrialist Sunjay Kapur, expressing hope that the long-running family feud would end in an amicable settlement.

A Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran took note of a preliminary report submitted on August 5 by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, who was appointed mediator in the matter.

“We are happy to note that the mediation is proceeding quite satisfactorily. We are also happy to note that the parties concerned are cooperating,” the Bench observed.

Recording the contents of the mediator’s report, the court said that six mediation sessions had already been held and that Chandrachud had interacted with every member of the family. “The parties have engaged in detailed discussions regarding the claims and entitlements that arise from the trust structure and the assets forming part of the corpus of the trust,” the order said.

According to the report, the parties have agreed to continue discussions under the mediator’s supervision in an effort to crystallise a holistic settlement of their claims. The court also said that the mediation process has been assisted by a senior chartered accountant and a tax expert. Accepting the mediator’s request for more time, the Bench extended the mediation process until November 2.

“We are sure and very much hopeful that, in view of the manner in which the parties have cooperated so far in the mediation proceedings, all disputes may get resolved amicably,” the court said. Reiterating the advise it had given when referring the matter to mediation, the Bench reminded the family to approach the process with an “open mind and open heart” rather than pursue years of adversarial litigation. “Let the mediation proceed further. We shall wait for one more report of the learned mediator,” it added.

The proceedings stem from a petition filed by Rani Kapur, who has alleged that following a stroke in 2017, her late son Sunjay Kapur and his wife, Priya S Kapur, took advantage of her medical condition and induced her to transfer assets into the family trust without her informed consent.

She has claimed that she was asked to sign several documents, including blank papers, on the pretext of administrative formalities. The dispute escalated after Sunjay Kapur’s death in June last year, with Rani Kapur alleging that Priya S Kapur moved to take control of key companies within the Sona group and that she had been excluded from a substantial share of the family’s assets.

Separately, Sunjay Kapur’s two children from his marriage to actor Karisma Kapoor have challenged the authenticity of his alleged Will before the Delhi High Court (HC), accusing Priya S Kapur of forgery and seeking to restrain her from creating third-party rights over the estate.

The HC granted interim protection in their favour on April 30. Before the SC, Rani Kapur has also sought an order maintaining the status quo on the alienation of properties forming part of the trust.

In May, the apex court referred the dispute to mediation after all parties agreed to explore a negotiated resolution and appointed former CJI D Y Chandrachud to facilitate the process.