Ready to pay Rs.20,000 crore to SEBI: Sahara Group to Supreme Court

The Sahara group Tuesday made a fresh proposal to the Supreme Court to pay market regulator SEBI, in a span of one year, Rs.20,000 crore of the money it has to return to the investors collected through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD).

In a fresh proposal to the bench of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice JS Khehar, the Sahara group said they will deposit Rs.2,500 crore within three working days of the lifting of restrictions on its bank accounts and deposits after its proposal is accepted by the court.

The fresh proposal by Sahara says that thereafter it would deposit with the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) three instalments of Rs.3,500 crore each June 30, Sep 30 and Dec 31. The balance of Rs.7,000 crore would be deposited March 31, 2015. The Sahara group offered to provide an irrevocable bank guarantee at any time for any unpaid instalment that becomes due or for all the remaining unpaid amounts. 

It said that to enable it to furnish the bank guarantees, the amount (other than Rs.5,120 crore which shall remain with SEBI) lying with the market regulator would be deposited with the bank, to the extent it was required, for obtaining bank guarantees.

The court will consider the proposal Wednesday as it declined to entertain the same Tuesday, saying that it cannot appreciate a proposal being made across the bar. It said the same should have been submitted to the registry Monday evening so that they could have gone through it. The court had March 4 sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy and his two directors to Tihar jail for failing to make an acceptable proposal for depositing the Rs. 20,000 crore to SEBI.

Seeking the lifting of all the restrictions imposed by the SEBI, Sahara, in their fresh proposal, said that the title deeds of the assets that are with SEBI would continue to remain with it.

However, the same may be made available to it when it wants to dispose off any of them for honouring its financial commitments to market regulator or for providing bank guarantee.

Giving the details of its outstanding liabilities, in the wake of August 31, 2012 apex court order, Sahara in its fresh proposal said that it had raised Rs.25,781 crore by issuance of OFCDs. 

It said that it deposited with SEBI on December 5, 2012, an amount of Rs.5,120 crore and another Rs.21 crore were credited to the market regulator by various banks. Taking into account other calculations, Sahara said that outstanding amount for the implementation of court's August 31, 2012 order, was Rs. 20,000 crore. 

For generating the necessary funds to make the first and other four installments, Sahara urged the court that it and its other entities be permitted to operate the bank accounts and deposits. The two Sahara companies - Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited - had collected Rs. 24,780 crores from 3.3 crore investors which the apex court by its August 31, 2012 order had directed it to return.