The Supreme Court on Monday attached Sahara's Aamby Valley—valued at approximately Rs 39,000 crore – in order to expedite the recovery of Rs 14,779 crore the company owes its duped investors.
At the insistence of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the SC also ordered Sahara to submit a list of properties "free from any encumbrance" that would be put up for auction to help recover the money.
So far, Sahara has managed to repay a little over Rs 11,000 crore. Pursuant to an earlier order, Sahara deposited approximately Rs 600 crore with Sebi on Monday. Kapil Sibal, representing Sahara, sought time till July 2019 to deposit the balance of Rs 14,779 crore with Sebi.
However, this simply takes care of the principal amount. "The issue of amount of interest shall be adverted to after deposit of the principal amount," a special bench led by Justice Dipak Misra said.
The SC attached Sahara's prime real estate — situated a little over 100 kms from Mumbai, after it felt that the company's proposed plan to replay the principal amount extending till 2019 was too long.
Sibal, however, urged the bench to hear his submissions before passing any order. "What is the hurry? There is no bank asking for money. There are no investors asking for money," Sibal said, submitting the income-tax appellate tribunal order that claimed the company had already refunded 85% of the investors.
Sahara has been directed to submit its list of properties by January 20 and the court will take up the matter a week later.
On January 12, the apex court threatened to cancel Sahara chief Subrata Roy's bail and ordered him to deposit Rs 600 crore with market regulator Sebi before February 6 as directed by an earlier order.
Then, the specially constituted bench comprising of Justices Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri had even asked Sebi counsel Arvind Datar what would happen if the Sahara chief did not deposit the requisite amount. To this, the senior counsel had implied that at least 87 properties associated with the company would be attached, a receiver could be appointed and the properties sold through auction.
In December 2016, Roy informed the then Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, that Sahara had shared a "road map" with the appointed Amicus Curiae Shekhar Naphade to deposit the balance of the principal amount by December 2018. Based on this submission, the court had then extended Roy's interim bail.
On January 4, 2012, Sahara had filed an affidavit with the apex court indicating that it had enough underlying "unencumbered" assets with Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHIC), to repay its investors.
This affidavit was filed when the top court had temporarily stayed an October 2011 order by Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) – the body that hears appeals against Sebi orders. SAT had ordered Sahara to return the money it had collected by duping its investors.
It remains to be seen if Sahara submits the same "free and unencumbered" properties it had filed in the 2012 affidavit (see box).
Unencumbered properties listed by Sahara in 2012
(all invested amounts in Rs. crores)
- Rs. 3,459: Development rights in land owned by Aamby Valley Ltd measuring 707 acres near Pune.
- Rs. 5,207: Development of Aamby Valley City, spread over 10,000 acres of land, by Sahara and its 11 subsidiaries. Rs. 40,461 crore claimed market value.
- Rs. 1,436: Development rights in land measuring 186 acres in Delhi NCR through various Sahara group entities.
- Rs. 1,848: 33% stake in Versova project (near Lokhandwala Complex in Mumbai's western suburbs), comprising 106 acres of land.
- Rs. 1,105: 90 to 95% stake in 64 special purpose vehicles (partnership firms) of the Sahara Group having 64 real estate projects in 64 cities.
- 40% stake in four city home projects measuring 318 acres of land in four cities.
- Rs.180: 50% stake in 15 city home projects in 15 cities measuring 1,751 acres of land. In 2012, Sahara claimed that the valuation of its shares in four city home projects was about Rs 888 crore (before tax). And the value of 15 city homes project is Rs 5,192 crore.
- Rs. 1,000: 30% stake in 40 acres of land in Lucknow district
- Rs: 532: 100% stake by way of holding equity shares in 60 entities with 515 acres of land at 16 locations. In 2012, the market value was pegged at Rs 3,138 crore.
- Rs. 62: 100% development rights held by two entities in land measuring 196 acres at Vasai and Malegaon in Maharashtra. In 2012, value was estimated at Rs 2,421 crore.
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