Sahara group moves SC against SAT dismissal of plea

The Sahara Group on Friday moved the Supreme Court against the order of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) dismissing its appeal against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in a case involving refund of about Rs 24,000 crore with interest to about three crore investors.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir listed the matter for hearing on Monday.

The counsel for Sahara told the bench that the company was ready with a draft of Rs 5,100 crore for deposit in the apex court's registry.

The apex court had asked Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) to refund an estimated Rs 24,000 crore with an annual interest of 15 per cent, while Sebi was directed to facilitate the refund of this money to about three crore investors of the two firms.

The court had asked the companies to furnish the documents related to these investors to Sebi within 10 days and refund the money within three months, failing which the regulator was asked to freeze the accounts and attach properties of the two firms.

In their appeal before the SAT, the Sahara Group firms had sought the Tribunal's intervention in refund of investors' money and had accused market regulator Sebi of wrongly charging them of non-compliance with a Supreme Court order in that regard.

The Tribunal, however, had said any further direction in the case could be sought and granted by the Supreme Court alone and dismissed the appeal.

With inputs from PTI