The Sahara India
Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL) has moved the Supreme Court seeking its
permission to sell various properties, including Amby Valley in Maharashtra and
Shahara Saher in Lucknow, to Adani Properties Private Limited.
The plea, which was mentioned for hearing recently,
would likely come up on October 14.
Seeking the permission, the plea filed through
advocate Gautam Awasthi, said, "..to outright sell various properties
belonging to the Sahara Group to Adani Properties Private Limited, for the
consideration and on the terms and conditions as set out in the term sheet
dated September 6, 2025." The interlocutory application, filed in the
pending matters related to Sahara group, said pursuant to various orders passed
by this court, from time to time, and after taking the permission of this court
through various orders, the SICCL and the Sahara Group were, with great
difficulty, able to liquidate certain movable and immovable assets of theirs,
the proceeds of which were deposited into the Sebi Sahara Refund Account.
"Out of a total
principal amount of Rs 24,030 crore, the Sahara Group, by way of
sale/liquidation of their movable and immovable assets have realised an amount
of approximately Rs 16,000 crore and deposited the same in the Sebi Sahara
Refund Account," it said.
Pointing to the inability of the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to liquidate or sell Sahara Group assets,
despite engaging reputed estate brokerage companies, the SICCL said the
entirety of the funds deposited in the Sebi Sahara Refund Account were
deposited through the sole efforts of and with great difficulty by the
applicant and the Sahara Group.
The SICCL further
said post the death of Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy in November 2023, the
group lost its sole decision maker, who was until now, making all decisions on
its behalf.
"The family members of the late Subrata Roy
were not involved in the day-to-day business operations and management of the
Sahara Group. However, considering the family members desire to safeguard the
interest of the investors, the Sahara Group has decided that the assets of the
Sahara Group be liquidated at the maximum value and in an expeditious manner to
satisfy the orders passed by this court, to discharge the liabilities of the
Sahara Group and put a close to the present contempt proceedings," it
said.
The SICCL said the
decision was taken in the interest of all stakeholders, most particularly in
the interest of the investors in the Sahara Group so that their claims would be
well satisfied and they receive maximum value.
It, however, said the efforts did not yield any
positive result due to the prevailing market conditions, absence of viable
offers, and the pendency of multiple litigations, all of which collectively
eroded buyer confidence and significantly impacted the marketability of the
said properties.
It said the efforts were further complicated with
multiple investigating agencies having initiated inquiries against the family
members of Late Subrata Roy and other senior officials of Sahara Group.
"The said
parallel and uncoordinated actions are not only creating confusion, conflicting
narratives, and unwarranted doubt in the mind of investors/ depositors but are
also effectively hampering, and are likely to further hamper, the ongoing
efforts of the Sahara Group to monetise its assets and comply with the
directions of this court," the plea said.
Following Roy's death in November 2023, and in the
absence of a formally designated decision-making authority within the Sahara
Group, the plea said, certain persons while relying on outdated board
resolutions attempted to deal with immovable assets of the group without proper
authority.
They were dealt with appropriate action through
complaints across various jurisdictions to protect the group's assets and
prevent any unauthorised transactions, it added.
Seeking approval of
transactions as contemplated under the term sheet dated September 6, executed
between the SICCL and Adani Properties Private Limited for the sale of 88
properties mentioned in the schedule, the group said the proposed transaction
represents a significant breakthrough, not only in unlocking substantial value
from the Sahara Group's key immovable assets, but also ensuring compliance with
the financial obligations required to be fulfilled by the Sahara Group pursuant
to court orders.
On September 12, the top court ordered the disbursal
of Rs 5,000 crore of over Rs 24,030 crore deposited by Sahara Group with Sebi
to repay dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.
It
had said the order was in line with the March 29, 2023 order where a similar
application of the Centre was allowed for allocation of Rs 5,000 crore to repay
dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.