SEBI gears up to sell off Sahara properties

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 29, asked market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to immediately start selling Sahara group's properties. Abench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, passed the order as the Chief Justice observed that the group had failed to mobilise Rs 10,000 crore for paying the bail amount in order to get the chief of multi-diversified Sahara Group Subrata Roy released. He has been in Tihar Jail with two other directors of Sahara Group since March 2014,for his failure to return about Rs 25,000 crore collected by two group companies (Sahara India Real Estate and Sahara Housing Investment Corp.) in the form of debentures.

The Supreme Court asked SEBI to engage experts to sell the assets under the guidance and supervision of retired apex court judge BN Agarwal. Original documents of the properties had been given by Sahara to SEBI. Sahara said the documents pertained to properties worth Rs 40,000 crore, which SEBI contested.

For the interim bail of 67-year-old Roy, the court had put conditions like depositing Rs 5,000 crore in cash and a bank guarantee of equal amount and tough terms, including payment of the entire Rs 36,000 crore, which includes interest. The money will be paid back to the investors of Sahara.The Supreme Court had directed the group to return the amount through SEBI, but the group claimed to have made the refund directly to the three crore small investors in cash. The Supreme Court and SEBI refused to accept it. SEBI was asked to evolve the experts and start selling their properties as they have passed the order to this effect, SC said Whichever property fetched not less than 90 per cent of the circle rate could be sold by SEBI as the counsel for SEBI claimed that nothing concrete was happening on the ground.The court seemed to be willing to give the group more elbow room. 

The order, asking SEBI to proceed with the sale of properties, came when senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Roy, submitted that the group was finding it increasingly difficult to sell its properties in the current market environment. The Sahara group said it has already submitted the title deeds to SEBI and the 86 properties do not include the "foreign properties of Sahara nor Amby Valley City nor Sahara Star hotel."SC said the SEBI would appoint an agency to decide the mechanism for sale of Sahara properties, which is being undertaken to recover investors' money that Sahara groups' two companies — SIRECL and SHICL — had collected through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD).The court said the entire process would be undertaken under the supervision of Justice Agrawal and Sahara would be kept informed about the steps being taken for the sale of its properties.The move to allow direct sale by SEBI opens a new avenue for realisation of the dues, which have now swelled to nearly Rs 40,000 crore, even as the court adjourned the hearing on a petition to appoint an official receiver and other related matters to April 27.