Sona Comstar family dispute: Here’s everything that has transpired since June

A letter from Sona Comstar‘s former Chairperson and wife of the company’s founder, Rani Kapur, today, July 25, brought to fore the brewing family dispute over the company’s ownership since the sudden demise of Sunjay Kapur. The tussle over who will lead the Gurugram-based auto components firm will likely be resolved before the courts.

Until that happens, here’s a timeline of events that have led to the current situation.

• On June 12, Sunjay Kapur, who led the company as chairman and non-executive director, died of a heart attack while playing polo in the UK. A known figure in the industry, he also served as ACMA president, co-chaired the CII Manufacturing Council, and sat on the board of The Doon School. He is survived by two children.
• Subsequently, on June 23, the company announced the appointment of Jeffrey Mark Overly as the new Chairperson of its Board of Directors, and Priya Sachdev Kapur as an Additional Non-Executive Director.
• Priya Sachdev Kapur, wife of Sunjay Kapur, was also appointed as Chairperson of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and as a member of the Environment, Social and Governance Committee. The appointments are subject to shareholder approval.
• The company was scheduled to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Shareholders on July 25, to decide on, among other things, the appointment of Priya Sachdev Kapur as the new Chairperson.
• Today, on July 25, ahead of the scheduled AGM, Rani Kapur in a letter addressed to the company’s board, asked for postponing the shareholders’ meeting by at least two weeks, alleging coercion and misrepresentation.
• Rani Kapur, the mother-in-law of Priya Sachdev Kapur, claimed to be a majority shareholder of the Sona Group, including the company, as per the Will of Sona Comstar’s founder Surinder Kapur, executed on June 30, 2015.
• Rani Kapur said that she was “coerced into signing such documents” during the period of grieving her son’s death and added that “some people have chosen this as an opportune time to wrest control and usurp the family legacy.”
• She also declared that she had not given any consent or officially nominated any person to come on the Board of the Company or any other Sona Group Company after my son’s demise or given any consent to any person to represent me in any capacity before the Company and or any other Sona Group Company.
• According to sources, Sona Comstar went ahead with holding the AGM as planned.

Now, the official update detailing the outcomes reached at the AGM will decide the direction this family dispute takes. A copy of the AGM outcome will be made available on stock exchange sites in the coming days.

(Edited by : Akanksha Upadhyay)