SC notice to Sahara firms on SEBI's contempt plea

The Supreme Court Wednesday issued notice to Sahara Group's two real estate companies on a petition by the Securities and Exchange Board of India seeking contempt proceedings against them for their failure to comply with Dec 5, 2012, order of the apex court.

The apex court order of Dec 5, 2012, asked the market regulator to accept Sahara's pay order of Rs.5,120 crore as a part-payment of the investors' money that Sahara India Real Estate Corp. and Sahara Housing Investment Corp. had collected through optionally fully-convertible debentures.

The apex court bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice J.S. Khehar would take up the matter next July 30.

The court also asked two Sahara Group companies to tell it by Tuesday - when matter would next come up for hearing - by what time it would deposit Rs.10,000 crore as directed by it earlier.

This is the second contempt petition that the market regulator has filed against the Sahara Group's real estate companies.

The apex court in its order said that Sahara would deposit Rs.10,000 crore in the first week of January and the balance amount in the first week of February.

In the earlier contempt petition, the SEBI contended that Sahara Group companies had not complied with the directions given in the apex court verdict of Aug 31, 2012, asking it to pay the market regulator Rs.17,500 crore, along with 15 percent per annum interest, that it had collected through the debentures.

The SEBI said the two companies had not furnished all the documents.

The companies "have violated not only one but two orders passed by the apex court and this makes the act" more "serious, grave, wilful and deliberate", SEBI's contempt petition said.