Setback for Sahara in apex court, bidding to begin soon

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ruled that the process of auctioning of Sahara-owned Amby Valley shall start subject to deposit of Rs 1,500 crores by September 7. The apex court set September 11 as the next date of hearing in the case. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra and also comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Arjan Kumar Sikri, gave the order after hearing submissions from Sahara and the market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In the previous hearing, Sahara had paid Rs 1,500 crore and the apex court had directed it to pay Rs 500 crore more by 15th July.

The SEBI alleged that the group's founder Subrata Roy allegedly failed to comply with an 2012 apex court order directing him to return investors more than Rs 20,000 crore with 15% interest that his two companies Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd and the Sahara Housing Finance Corp Ltd had raised in 2007 and 2008 through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD). Sahara, once one of India's most high-profile firms, had in the past made several failed attempts to raise the bail money using its prized overseas hotels that include the Plaza in New York and Grosvenor House in London. The group contends that it has paid more than 80 percent of the dues to the bondholders but SEBI said Sahara has not forked out more than Rs 9,000 crores. (UNI)