Supreme court directs SEBI to sell Sahara properties to recover dues

The Supreme Court today asked the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to appoint an agency to sell 86 properties worth Rs 40,000 crore held by Sahara Group, to recover dues in the illegal bonds case.

The bench headed by Chief justice T S Thakur directed the regulator to appoint an expert agency and execute the sale of these assets under the supervision of retired judge B N Agarwal.

The apex court has, however, told SEBI not to sell the properties if the bids were less than 90%. These properties will also not include Amby Valley or those outside India.

The move to allow direct sale comes after the group expressed its inability to raise Rs 10,000 crore for the release of Subrata Roy and two other company directors.

Subrata Roy was arrested in March 2014 after the company failed to comply with a court order to refund money raised from millions of small investors. Roy had since then spent over two years in jail after failing to arrange Rs 5,000 crore in cash and Rs 5,000 crore in bank guarantees for his release.

The process for liquidation of Sahara’s properties could begin as early as next week.