The legal dispute over late actor Sridevi’s Chennai property has once again come into the spotlight. The Supreme Court has issued notice on a plea filed by a woman and her brother claiming a share in 2.7 acres of land that was sold to the family of the late actor Sridevi in 1988.
The woman has challenged a Madras High Court order that had dismissed her suit against Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor and their daughters Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor. The contested property is located on East Coast Road in Chennai. A bench of Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice Arun Palli has directed that status quo be maintained on the disputed property until the next hearing. The court also issued notice to the concerned parties. Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran and Advocate Balaji Srinivasan, appearing for petitioner MC Sivakami, argued that at the initial stage of a suit, the trial court is required to examine only the averments made in the plaint. The petitioner argued that the trial court had been prima facie satisfied that there was a cause of action for filing the suit and that the claim was within the limitation period. The petitioner further argued that the High Court had examined whether she was a legal heir and whether the marriage of the concerned first wife was legally valid.
An application was made in 2023 for mutation of the property records, according to the petitioner’s counsel.
However, the Madras High Court, according to the petitioner, examined the documents in detail and effectively conducted a “mini-trial” at the preliminary stage.
What Did The Kapoor Family Argue?
The woman had filed a suit against Boney Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor and other concerned parties, claiming a legal share in the property. The trial court had initially found that the suit could proceed, holding that, prima facie, a cause of action existed and that the claim was within the limitation period. The Madras High Court subsequently interfered with the trial court’s order and dismissed the suit. The petitioner has alleged that the High Court went into the merits of the documents at the preliminary stage and examined issues including whether she was a legal heir and whether the marriage of the concerned first wife was legally valid.
Singhvi argued that the concerned petitioners became adults in 1995 and 1999 and that the suit filed in 2025 was therefore barred by limitation. The petitioner has argued that the suit should therefore have proceeded to trial. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Kapoor family, argued that the sale deed relating to the land was executed on April 19, 1988. He said that following Sridevi’s death, an application for mutation was made in 2023, and the suit was subsequently filed in 2025, seeking to challenge a transaction dating back nearly three decades. The dispute concerns 2.7 acres of land that was sold to Sridevi’s family on April 19, 1988.
During the hearing, the bench asked whether MC Chandrasekaran, who had sold the property, had a one-fifth share in it. The bench also asked whether there was any dispute regarding the claim that the petitioners were children of MC Chandrasekaran. Singhvi submitted that the one-fifth share would go to the first wife and that other claimants could only claim their respective shares. The Supreme Court asked all parties to explore the possibility of resolving the dispute amicably.
The matter has now been listed for December 18 to consider the progress of the mediation.
The bench said it would appoint a retired High Court judge as mediator and asked the parties to appear before the mediator and explore a settlement.
