The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Sahara Group to provide details of its current leadership, shareholders, and a list of unencumbered properties that could be sold to raise Rs 10,000 crore
This amount is to be deposited in the SEBI-Sahara refund account to return investors’ money.
The case stems from a series of directives issued by the top court on August 31, 2012, requiring Sahara Group companies, Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL), to refund the amounts collected from investors with 15% annual interest. The court gave a three-month deadline to comply.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, M M Sundresh, and Bela M Trivedi stressed the need for a practical solution to ensure investor refunds, as the case has been ongoing for over a decade. The bench emphasized that Sahara Group must present a clear plan to deposit the remaining Rs 10,000 crore, noting that only around Rs 15,000 crore of the required Rs 25,000 crore has been deposited so far.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing SEBI, raised concerns about the group’s leadership following the death of Subrata Roy in 2023. He pointed out that the company’s organizational structure and the method of complying with the court’s order remain unclear.
The court requested Sahara to submit a detailed roadmap for the deposit and a list of all encumbered and unencumbered properties, excluding Aamby Valley, to facilitate further directions.
On Tuesday, the court clarified that Sahara Group is not restricted from selling its properties to deposit the required Rs 10,000 crore, provided the sales are above the circle rate. If sold below this rate, prior court approval is necessary.
In a previous hearing, SEBI informed the court that Sahara firms had deposited Rs 15,455.70 crore by September 30, 2020, which was invested in fixed deposits with nationalized banks. The total amount, including interest, in the SEBI-Sahara refund account is now Rs 22,589.01 crore.
However, SEBI argued that Sahara is in “gross violation” of court orders, as the group still owes Rs 10,325.62 crore, with the total liability, including interest, reaching Rs 62,602.90 crore as of September 30, 2020.
The court appointed senior advocate Shekhar Naphade as amicus curiae and directed him to present his arguments on Thursday.
(With inputs from agency)
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