SC to decide if Sahara properties can be sold piecemeal or in one go

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The Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday said it will decide whether the properties of Sahara India should be sold off piecemeal or in one go. A Bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and M M Sundresh sought responses from the Centre and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on an application by Sahara India Commercial Corporation seeking approval to sell 88 properties — including Aamby Valley City in Maharashtra and Sahara Shahar in Lucknow — to Adani Realty.

 

The Bench also directed Sahara to implead the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Cooperation after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, supported the move, observing that several cooperative societies had invested in Sahara entities through their members. 

“This appears to be a good suggestion, subject to various factors to be considered. The central government may also have to examine and present its views before the court,” Mehta submitted.

 

The court has also asked claimants to Sahara’s assets to file their claims with amicus curiae, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, who will categorise the properties based on ownership and disputes. It directed Sahara to review workers’ claims and coordinate with the Centre, Sebi, and the amicus before the next hearing on November 17.

 

“We request the Union of India, the amicus curiae, and Sebi to respond to the prayers made in the interlocutory application (plea). We direct Sahara to examine the claims of the workers on the next date,” the Bench said.

 

Sahara told the court that Sebi has been unable to dispose of the attached assets and that its capacity to manage them has weakened following the death of its promoter, Subrata Roy. The group said it had executed a term sheet with Adani Realty and proposed that the sale proceeds — over ₹12,000 crore — be used to clear outstanding liabilities.

 

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for Sebi, said the sale could proceed if the price was not less than 90 per cent of the market value. Sebi informed the court that Sahara still owes ₹9,000 crore in the Sahara-Sebi account.

 

“There are 88 properties. Not all of them are disputed. They can segregate the clean ones, and those can be sold. The employees and the other applications can be heard separately. The properties were first given to Sebi to sell, but there were so many encumbrances that they could not sell them. So the court asked Sahara to sell. There’s also a sealed cover, which Sahara has submitted, listing properties worth around ₹1.6 trillion. The court had said that if debenture holders can’t be found, then the money should go to the government," Datar told the court.

 

Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Adani, said the buyer was ready to acquire the entire portfolio despite pending claims.

 

“I have made an offer to buy all the properties. Otherwise, this litigation will be endless. This struggle will go on. It may be sent to a committee for examination. I am also saying I will take the properties with all the claims,” Rohatgi said, adding, “It has to be sold together in a basket. Otherwise, it will not be sold. We remember what happened in Versova.”

 

The Bench noted the competing interests over the assets and said a detailed examination was needed. The application is part of the Sahara–Sebi refund case. In 2012, the SC directed Sahara to deposit over ₹24,000 crore to repay investors in its optionally fully convertible debenture scheme. While Sahara claims to have deposited a major part of the amount, Sebi maintains that ₹9,000 crore remains outstanding. On September 12, the court allowed ₹5,000 crore to be disbursed from the refund account.