Sebi seeks early hearing of plea against Sahara

New Delhi: Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), looking to speed up the recovery process against the Sahara Group, on Wednesday requested the Supreme Court (SC) for an early hearing of its plea seeking appointment of a receiver to take control of the group’s assets.

The court will hear the case on 2 February, potentially setting a timeline for the recovery process.

Sebi had moved the apex court in August to recover Rs.36,000 crore from the conglomerate as it had consistently failed to deposit the money. Sebi asked the court to appoint a receiver, who would dispose of Sahara’s domestic and offshore properties, and raise this sum.

A bench headed by justice T.S. Thakur (now Chief Justice of India) had issued notice to Sahara in September.

Sebi lawyer Arvind Datar also asked the court on Wednesday to insist that Sahara file regular action-taken reports on its negotiations for selling its assets—three overseas hotels and several domestic properties—especially since there had been “complete silence” from Sahara’s end in the last three months.

Sahara chief Subrata Roy, and two Sahara directors—Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary—have been in judicial custody since 4 March 2014 for failing to repay about Rs.20,000 crore collected through schemes that Sebi deemed illegal. On 26 March 2014, the court allowed them to be released on condition that the group deposits Rs.10,000 crore—half in cash and half as a bank guarantee.

SC had on 19 June set an 18-month timeline for the repayment of the Rs.36,000 crore that Sahara owed depositors, from the date Roy was released.

In the order, the court had noted that Sahara had “failed to give satisfactory proof of redemption of Rs.17,400 crore by SIRECL (Sahara India Real Estate Corp. Ltd) and Rs.5,442 crores by SHICL (Sahara Housing Investment Corp. Ltd)”. Earlier, the court said if Sahara could not raise the money, it would appoint a receiver.

Meanwhile, Sahara continues to negotiate deals to sell its properties. On Wednesday, its lawyer told the court that “efforts are on” and “fresh negotiations” are being entered into.

Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI )