'Enough Is Enough' Say Judges, Sahara's Aamby Valley To Be Sold: 10 Facts
Sahara ordered to refund millions of investors Rs 24,000 crores Still owes Rs 14,000 crores, founder Subrato Roy is on bail Auction Aamby Valley luxury township worth Rs 34,000 crores: judges
The Aamby Valley Hill City Estate, owned by the Sahara conglomerate, must be sold, the Supreme Court said today, declaring "enough is enough." The Sahara chief, Subrata Roy, who was given bail in May 2016, must appear in court for the next hearing on the 27th of this month, judges said. The Aamby Valley project is reportedly worth Rs 34,000 crores. The Supreme Court is looking for a way to ensure that Sahara repays thousands of crores to investors in bonds that were ruled to have been mis-sold. Here are the 10 latest developments in this big story:
1. Aamby Valley must be auctioned, the Supreme Court said today, ordering Mr Roy and his group as well as SEBI, the capital market regulator, to provide all enabling documents within 48 hours.
2. The Aamby Valley development, near Pune, is spread over more than 10,000 acres and includes luxury resort accommodation and an 18-hole golf course.
3. In February, judges asked Sahara to give it a list of properties that are free from litigation and unmortgaged and could be put up for sale by auction. They also ordered the seizure of Aamby Valley.
4. Sahara, a former main sponsor of India's national cricket team, was ordered in 2014 to deposit Rs 36,000 crore with the Supreme Court - money that is to be returned with interest to lakhs of small investors in a banned savings deposit scheme.
5. Sahara has so far provided Rs 10,000 crores, and has missed a series of deadlines for paying the balance of Rs 14,000 crores.
6. Mr Roy was arrested in 2014 and placed in Delhi's Tihar Jail. He was granted bail last year to attend his mother's cremation. Since then, his bail has been extended repeatedly.
7. The 68-year-old has yet to be formally charged over the bonds scheme and has denied any wrongdoing.
8. Sahara is still trying to sell some of its prized assets at home and overseas, including New York's Plaza Hotel and London's Grosvenor House hotel.
9. The court had in November asked Mr Roy to deposit Rs 600 crore by February to remain out of jail and warned that failure to do so would result in his return to prison.
10. A sprawling resort of luxury chalets, man-made lakes and an airport, favoured by the business elite and Bollywood stars, Aamby Valley was worth 1 trillion rupees ($14.76 billion), Sahara told news agency Reuters last year, citing a 2014 report of property consultant Knight Frank's India unit.
(With agency inputs)
