Supreme Court Asks Sahara Group To Deposit Rs 5,092 Crore By April 7

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Sahara Group to deposit Rs 5,092 crore by April 7, while extending the parole granted to its chief Subrata Roy to April 17, the next date of hearing for the over four-year-old investor fraud case.

The Sahara Group submitted a list of 15 unencumbered (debt-free) properties to the apex court, of which 13 were allowed to be sold to raise the money. The court turned down Sahara’s counsel Kapil Sibal request for six months’ time to deposit the court-directed amount.

In a partial respite, the apex court said if the group can deposit a substantial part of the Rs 5,092.64 crore, it will consider extending the deadline to pay the remaining amount.

Separately, the top court directed U.S.-based MG Capital Holdings LLC, which offered to buy Sahara Group’s stake in the Plaza hotel in New York, to deposit Rs 750 crore to the court registry and then conduct the due diligence exercise. The court also asked Sahara Group to cooperate with MG Capital Holdings.

In an August 2012 verdict, the Supreme Court had ordered two Sahara companies to refund Rs 24,000 crore, along with 15 percent interest, to more than two crore small investors who had invested in their optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) between the years 2008 and 2011.

Roy, who set up a multi-million dollar business conglomerate, was sent to jail on March 4, 2014 for failing to pay a sum of Rs 10,000 crore as ordered by the court. The court then said that Roy will not be released from jail until he was able to raise half the amount in cash and the other half in the form of bank securities.

However, on account of Roy’s mother’s demise in May last year, the apex court permitted his release on parole. The interim arrangement has been continuing since then subject to Sahara’a payment of the amounts directed by the apex court.

In the previous hearing on February 6 this year, the top court had ordered attachment of Sahara Group’s prime property worth Rs 39,000 crore at Aamby Valley in Pune. The court had also asked Sahara to provide it with a list of unencumbered properties by February 27, which could be auctioned.