Sahara fails to refund Rs24,000 crore; SC directs SEBI action
19 Oct 2012
The Supreme Court today directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to proceed with punitive action against Sahara as per law as the company has failed so far to comply with the court's order to refund Rs24,000 crore collected by its two group firms from investors through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs).
The order, passed by a bench comprising justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar, said SEBI has the duty to take action according to law for non-compliance of its order.
The Supreme Court, in its 31 August order, had directed the two Sahara group real estate outfits to refund the entire amount collected from investors with 15 per cent interest thereon and also submit documents regarding investors in the OFCDs (See: SC orders Sahara Group firms to refund Rs17,400 crore to investors).
The court had ruled that the finance schemes run by the two companies -- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHIC) -- were illegal, and had ordered the firms to repay the amount to the nearly 30 million small investors.
The market regulator moved an application alleging that Sahara Group was not complying with the court's 31 August order after the deadline ended on 10 September.
"This is a disposed of case. Implement our orders. We can't pass any orders on SEBI application," the Supreme Court said today.