Supreme Court orders status quo in Sridevi family Chennai property dispute

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ordered status quo on a 2.7-acre property in Chennai linked to the family of late Bollywood actor Sridevi, issuing notice to her husband, film producer Boney Kapoor, and daughters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor. The court referred the long-running property dispute to court-monitored mediation. A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli heard the matter, which involves a challenge to a 1988 land sale. The petitioners, M.C. Sivakami and her brother M.C. Natarajan, claim a share in the land, alleging they are legal heirs of an original co-owner and that the sale deeds are void. They are appealing a Madras High Court decision that rejected their lawsuit. The court directed the parties to explore an amicable settlement, appointing a retired High Court judge to oversee the mediation. "We wanted to know if you people were prepared to sit together and sort it out. We will give you a good mediator," the bench remarked. The matter is scheduled for a further hearing on December 18 to review the progress of the mediation.