Finally, there is a ray of hope for incarcerated Sahara chief Subrata Roy as the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Sahara Group to sell four of its domestic properties that may fetch Rs2,600 crore. Sahara has already deposited with SEBI around Rs8,000 crore, and if the proposed sale goes through, it will help Roy buy his freedom. The SC has asked him to deposit Rs1,000 crore to SEBI as a condition for his bail. The properties are located at Jodhpur, Vasai, Gurgaon, and Pune.
However, on the sale of its offshore properties, the apex court asked Sahara to clarify several questions arising over its liability after SEBI pointed out that the second loan taken by Sahara at an exorbitant interest to offset the Bank of China loan is ridden with complications.Roy was put in jail on March 4 after he did not deposit over Rs30,000 crore to market regulator SEBI despite repeated court orders.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who appeared for Roy, told the SC Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur that till date a sum of Rs8,260 crore had been deposited with SEBI leaving a deficit of Rs1,882 crore to be paid. According to Dhavan, the proposed sale of the four properties would fetch them roughly Rs2,616 crore. However, a statement issued by Sahara group stated that sale of properties will generate Rs2,622.25 crore.
The Bench, also comprising Justices AR Dave and AK Sikri, allowed Sahara group to proceed with the sale and deposit the money with the SEBI-Sahara Refund account. The company handed SEBI a sum of Rs184.5 crore in form of three demand drafts and a post-dated cheque received as advance from the prospective buyers after signing of the sale agreement. With regard to the Pune property, the agreement has not been inked.
The remaining money will be generated before May 2015, Sahara’s counsel informed the court, thus indicating that Roy’s release may only be effective by middle of next year.The court directed the purchasers of the four properties to file an undertaking to the court promising to honour the sum committed for sale on the due date.
This was done in order to avoid further encumbrances such as dishonor of cheque, etc.On the sale of offshore properties, the court asked Sahara to respond to several queries raised by SEBI counsel and amicus curiae appointed in this matter. Following the collapse of the original plan to sell three prime Sahara hotels at New York and london to the Brunei Sultan, the Group said it failed to find any good buyer. SEBI contested this claim and pointed out fault with the present plan of Sahara to loan USD 650 million to offset the liability it owed to Bank of China over sale of the hotel property. This was being done at an exorbitant rate.
Amicus Curiae Shekhar Naphade sought details on the lender, conditions of loan and escrow account, and deductions to be made from the amount to be finally advanced to Sahara, which approximately would come to Rs3,070 crore.