The official liquidator had informed a bench led by CJI Dipak Misra that despite advertising for auction, no bidders had come forward to purchase the property as a whole.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Bombay High Court — the official liquidator of Sahara’s Aamby Valley — to sell the property in parcels since there were no takers for the land as a whole.
The top court’s decision came after the official liquidator informed the bench that the Piramal Group and Mahindra Lifespace Developer had shown an interest in the more than 8,000-acre township, barely 200 km from Mumbai, and were currently doing their due diligence.
The official liquidator had informed a bench led by CJI Dipak Misra that despite advertising for auction, no bidders had come forward to purchase the property as a whole. It had then sought permission to break up the land and auction it off in parcels.
At this point, senior advocate Arvind Datar representing Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the country’s market regulator, reminded the court that Subrata Roy’s Sahara owed Rs 11,569.8 crore, which were required to pay off duped investors.
However, senior advocate Vikas Singh refuted this amounted and said this claim needed verification.
After Sahara failed to pay the requisite Rs 5,000 crore, on April 17, 2017, the court had decided to auction Aamby Valley. Roy’s pleas to prevent the auctioning of his prized jewel fell on deaf ears as a three-judge bench that also included Justices Ranjan Gogoi and AK Sikri, had fixed the fair market price and instructed Bombay High Court to “proceed with formalities of auction by preparing draft terms and conditions and other formalities”.
Sahara, which allegedly duped its investors of Rs 24,000 crore, has been finding ways to raise money to pay the principal amount. So far, Sahara has managed to repay around Rs 16,000 crore.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "AAMBY_VALLEY")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}