SC asks Sahara to handover title deeds of properties worth Rs20,000 crore to SEBI

The apex court has asked Sahara group to hand over title deeds of properties worth Rs20,000 crore to SEBI within three weeks

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Sahara group to handover title deeds of properties worth Rs20,000 crore to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) within next three weeks. Failing to which, the apex court said Sahara group chief Subrato Roy and other directors will be barred from leaving the country without its permission.

"You indulge too much in hide and seek, we cannot trust you anymore. There is no escape and the money has to be paid," the apex court told Sahara.

Earlier in April, the Supreme Court while slamming the Sahara group for approachingAllahabad High Court and other forums had said, “You are manipulating courts”.

It may be recalled that Mr Roy through his advertisements had challenged SEBI to an open debate on an issue that had gone through a long legal process and where the group had used every legal forum available to it to file multiple appeals and challenges to stymie SEBI’s investigation.

On 10th April, the Sahara group chief and three of its directors, Vandana Bhargava, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar Dubey made a personal appearance before the market regulator. However, Mr Roy continued his tirade saying that the market regulator was more worried about his personal assets than refunding the money to investors of Sahara (read more Subrata Roy continues his tirade against SEBI after personal appearance

SEBI on 13 February 2013 passed two separate orders, together running into 160 pages, directing attachment of properties and freezing of accounts. It had said that in furtherance to a Supreme Court order directing refund of investors’ money collected by the two Sahara group companies, it ordered “attachment of all moveable and immoveable properties, bank accounts and demat accounts of these two companies and that of its promoters and directors Subrata Roy, Vandana Bhargava, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar Dubey”.

The assets ordered to be attached included those related to the group’s Aamby Valley resort town near Pune, other real estate assets in Delhi, Mumbai and at other places across the country, shares, mutual funds and various other investments.

Passing the attachment orders, SEBI had said that the two companies had raised Rs6,380 crore and Rs19,400 crore, respectively from bondholders and “various illegalities” were committed in the raising of these funds.