SC directs Sahara Group to deposit money in SEBI account

21 March, New Delhi

Supreme Court Tuesday modified its February order and said the investors money would be deposited in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Sahara account instead of the Supreme Court Registry while hearing the Subrata Roy Sahara case.

A bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, said the investors money now would be deposited in the Sahara SEBI account instead of the top court Registry. The Apex Court also warned Sahara and said it would auction Aambey Valley project if it fails to deposit the money within the time given by it.

Sahara had been earlier directed by the apex court to deposit an approximate amount of Rs 5,100 crore by April 17. Subrata Roy had been sent to Tihar jail on March 4, 2014, for not complying with the apex court’s orders in connection with a long dispute with the market regulator, SEBI.

The SEBI alleged that Roy had allegedly failed to comply with the apex court’s order directing him to return the investors’ money of more than Rs 20,000 crore with 15 per cent interest that his two companies — Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd and Sahara Housing Finance Corp Ltd — had raised through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD) in 2007 and 2008.

Sahara, once among India’s high-profile firms, has in the past made several failed attempts to raise the bail money using its prized overseas hotels that include the Plaza in New York and Grosvenor House in London.

Sahara says it has paid more than 80 per cent of the dues to share holders, but SEBI has disputed that and said the company has not paid more than Rs 10,000 crores.