REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
I.A. NOs. 101-103
IN
CONTEMPT PETITIONS (C) NO.412 - 413 OF 2012
IN
CIVIL APPEALS NO. 9813 AND 9833 OF 2011
AND
CONTEMPT PETITION (C) NO.260 OF 2013
IN
CIVIL APPEAL NO.8643 OF 2012
S.E.B.I.

Appellant
Versus

Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd.

& Ors.

Respondents

JUDGMENT
T.S. Thakur, J.
1.

Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL)

and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHICL)

(hereinafter referred to as Saharas for short) invited and
claim to have collected deposits from general public including
cobblers, labourers, artisans and peasants in the form of
1

what

were

Debentures

described
(OFCD).

as
On

Optional
a

Fully

complaint

Convertible

received

from

Professional Group of Investors Protection, SEBI found that

the mobilisation of funds under the Red Herring Prospectus
(RHP) dated 13th March, 2008 and 6th October, 2009 issued
by the two companies was not legally permissible. By an ad
interim ex parte order dated 24th November, 2010 SEBI
directed Saharas not to offer their equity shares/OFCDS or
any other securities to the public or invite subscription in any
manner whatsoever either directly or indirectly pending
further orders.

Aggrieved by the said order Saharas

approached the High Court at Bombay but the High Court

not only declined to interfere with the directions issued by
SEBI but also passed a further order on 23 rd June, 2011,
directing the promoter Mr. Subrata Roy Sahara and Directors
Miss Vandana Bhargava, Mr. Ravi Shankar Dubey and Mr.
Ashok Roy Choudhary of Saharas to jointly and severely
refund the amount collected by Saharas in terms of the RHPs
issued by them alongwith interest @ 15% p.a. from the date
of the receipt of the deposits till the date of such repayment.
Pursuant thereto the SEBI ordered that the refund of the
2

amount shall be made only in cash through demand drafts or

pay orders. The SEBI issued further directions including a
direction

that

Sahara

Commodity

Services

Corporation

Limited (earlier known as SIRECL) and SHICL shall not

access the security market for raising funds till the time the
aforesaid payments are not made to the satisfaction of the
SEBI.
2.

Aggrieved by the order aforementioned, Saharas filed

an appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) who

concurred with the view taken by the SEBI, and while
affirming the order passed by the SEBI, directed Saharas to
refund the amount collected from the investors within a
period of six weeks.
3.

Appeals No.9813 and 9833 of 2011 were then preferred

by Saharas against the above orders in which this Court by

an order dated 28th November, 2011 extended the period for
making the refund upto 9th January, 2012 but finally
disposed of the appeals by an order dated 31 st August, 2012.
This Court while doing so modified the order passed by the
SEBI and the SAT and directed Saharas to deposit with the
3

SEBI the amount collected by them through their RHPs

together with interest @ 15% p.a. within a period of three
months.

The amount when deposited was directed to be

invested in a nationalised bank to earn interest. Saharas

were

also

directed

to

furnish

details

with

supporting

documents to establish whether they had refunded any

amount to the investors who had subscribed through the
RHPs in question. SEBI was then to examine the correctness
of the details so furnished. Failure to prove the refund of the
amount by Saharas had to give rise to an inference that
Saharas had not refunded the amount to the real and
genuine subscribers as directed by the SEBI.
4.

It is common ground that directions issued by this

Court by its order dated 31st August, 2012 were not complied
with. Instead Appeal No.221 of 2012 was preferred by
Saharas before the SAT which was dismissed by the Tribunal
as premature. This dismissal was assailed by the Saharas in
C.A. No. 8643 of 2012 that came to be disposed of by a
three-Judge Bench of this Court by an order dated 5 th
December, 2012 with the following among other directions:

(I) The appellants shall immediately hand over the

Demand Drafts, which they have produced in Court,
to SEBI, for a total sum of 5120/-Crores and deposit the balance in terms of the order of 31st August, 2012, namely, 17,400/- Crores and the entire
amount, including the amount mentioned above, together with interest at the rate of 15 per cent, per
annum, with SEBI, in two installments. The first installment of 10,000/-Crores, shall be deposited with
SEBI within the first week of January, 2013. The remaining balance, along with the interest, as calculated, shall be deposited within the first week of
February, 2013. The time for filing documents in
support of the refunds made to any person, as
claimed by the appellants, is extended by a period
of 15 days. On receipt of the said documents, SEBI
shall implement the directions contained in the order
passed on 31st August, 2012. In default of deposit
of the said documents within the stipulated period,
or in the event of default of deposit of either of the
two installments, the directions contained in paragraph 10 of the aforesaid order dated 31st August,
2012, shall immediately come into effect and SEBI
will be entitled to take all legal remedies, including
attachment and sale of properties, freezing of bank
accounts etc. for realisation of the balance dues.

5.

Pursuant to the above, Saharas deposited Rs.5120/-

crores with the SEBI but failed to pay the remaining amount.
The balance amount payable is in the vicinity of Rs.12280/crores, exclusive of interest payable on the same. SEBI then
filed Contempt Petitions No.412 and 413 of 2013 and,
Contempt Petition No.260 of 2013 against the contemnors
for non-compliance of the directions of this Court. Various
orders have been passed in these contempt petitions from
time to time, and those which are germane for our purpose,
5

shall be adverted to hereinafter at the appropriate stage.

The applications (IAs) which we are dealing with in this
order, are filed in these contempt petitions and arise out of
the earlier orders passed.
6.

It is pertinent to point out at this stage that in the

course of the proceedings in the above contempt petitions

some proposals appear to have been explored by the parties
for compliance with the directions of this Court but all such
proposal were found to be unsatisfactory eventually leading
to the issue of non-bailable warrants against Mr. Subrata
Roy Sahara for his production before this Court. Three other
Directors of Saharas were also ordered to remain present
before this Court.
7.

On 4th March, 2014 when the contemnors appeared

before this Court one of them in custody, this Court recorded

a finding that the directions issued by the Court by its order
dated 31st August, 2012 and 5th December, 2012 and those
issued on 25th February, 2013 in CA No.8643 of 2012 and IA
No.67 of 2013 had not been complied with, despite sufficient
opportunities to the contemnors to do so. It was also held
6

that contemnors had adopted dilatory tactics to delay the

proceedings before the SEBI, the High Court and even before
this Court. It was further found that no acceptable proposal
was presented to comply with the directions of this Court
which left no option for this Court except to commit three out
of the four contemnors to judicial custody. The contemnors
are, ever since the said order, in judicial custody in Delhis
Tihar Jail.
8.

It is clear from the above narration that as per the

orders passed, a huge amount of nearly Rs.33,000/- crores

is yet to be deposited. It is also apparent that deadlines for
depositing this amount are long over. No doubt various
proposals have been given by Saharas for making payments
but none has fructified. From the tenor of orders passed
earlier, it can easily be gauged that these proposals did not
inspire confidence. In this backdrop when the matter again
came on 26th March, 2014, and the contemnors insisted on
granting bail to them, this Court passed a conditional Order
granting interim bail to the contemnors; the condition being
that they deposit Rs.10,000/- crores. Out of this a sum of

Rs.5,000/- crores had to be deposited in cash before this

Court while the balance amount of Rs.5000/- crores had to
be secured by a bank guarantee of a nationalised bank,
furnished in favour of the SEBI. Upon compliance with those
conditions the contemnors were directed to be released from
the custody and the amount deposited by them to be
transferred to the SEBI. Since we are directly concerned with
this order, we may, as well, extract the same:
We have gone through the fresh proposal filed on
25.3.2014. Through the same is not in compliance
with our Order dated 31.8.2012 or the Order passed
by the three-Judge Bench of this Court on 5.12.2012
in Civil Appeal No.8643 of 2012 and on 25.2.2013 in
I.A. No. 67 of 2013 in Civil Appeal No.9813 of 2011
with I.A. No.5 of 2013 in Civil Appeal No.9833 of
2011, we are inclined to grant interim bail to the
contemnors who are detained by virtue of our order
dated 4.3.2014, on the condition taht they would
pay the amount of Rs.10,000 crores out of which
Rs.5,000 crores to be deposited before this Court
and for the balance a Bank Guarantee of a
nationalised bank be furnished in favour of S.E.B.I.
and be deposited before this Court.
On compliance, the contemnors be released
forthwith and the amount deposited be released to
S.E.B.I.
We make it clear that this order is passed in
order to facilitate the contemnors to further raise
the balance amount so as to comply with the Courts
Orders mentioned above.

9.

Instead of complying with the above directions Mr.

Subrata Roy Sahara filed Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 57 of 2014

challenging the validity of the order of this Court dated 4 th
March, 2014 on the ground that the same was void and nonest in the eyes of law. A declaration to the effect that
continued incarceration of the petitioner Mr. Subrata Roy
Sahara in custody was illegal and a writ of habeas corpus
and directions for release of the petitioner from custody were
also prayed for. The said writ petition was heard by a Bench
comprising Honble K.S. Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar, J.J.
and came to be dismissed vide detailed judgment dated 6 th
May, 2014.
10. Having traversed in brief, the otherwise long journey of
this case, we revert back to the IAs which are the subject
matter of the instant order. In the present I.As. No.101-103
of 2014 filed in Contempt Petitions (C) No.412 and 413 of
2012 and Contempt Petitions (C) No. 260 of 2013, the
contemnors have made the following prayers:
(a)

Lift the restrictions imposed by this Honble

Court vide its order dated 21.11.2013 and
SEBIs order dated 13.2.2013, in respect of
operation of the Bank Accounts/deposits/demat
9

accounts/sale
Annexure-A;

of

securities

mentioned

at

(b)

Lift the restrictions imposed by this Honble

Court vide its order dated 21.11.2013 and
SEBIs order dated 13.02.2013 in respect of the
movable and immovable properties mentioned
in Annexure B, on condition that net proceeds
(after costs and taxes) thereof be utilized
exclusively for payment ordered by this Honble
Court.

(c)

pass such further or other order as this Honble

Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and
circumstances of the present case.

11. Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan having demitted office and,

Justice J.S. Khehar having recused himself from the further
hearing of the case, the applications were listed before us for
urgent hearing on 19th May, 2014 when the same were heard
in part and directed to come up for continuation on 29 th May,
2014.
12. Appearing for the contemnors, Dr. Rajiv Dhawan made
a three-fold submission before us. Firstly, he contended that
the order passed by this Court on 26 th March, 2014 granting
interim bail subject to the conditions stipulated in the said
order deserved to be modified as the conditions stipulated
therein were not only onerous but incapable of being
complied with in the facts and circumstances of the case.
10

Alternatively,

he

contended

that

compliance

with

the

conditions stipulated by this Court would require sale of

several items of immovable properties held by Sahara Group
of companies which sales can be finalised only if the
contemnors were enlarged from custody with a view to
enable them to negotiate the sale transactions. He submitted
that keeping in view the extent and nature of the properties
which shall have to be sold as also the amounts that have
been ordered to be deposited compliance with the conditions
stipulated

by this Court

is

extremely

difficult,

if

not

impossible, unless the contemnors are enlarged from jail and

allowed to take steps necessary for compliance.

It was

further contended by Dr. Dhawan that the restraint orders

against the sale of the moveable and immoveable properties
held by the Saharas made it impossible for them to arrange
compliance unless the embargo placed upon such sale and
transfer by this Courts Order dated 21st November, 2013
and that passed by SEBI on 13 th February, 2013 are lifted.
He argued that even if the contemnors were not enlarged on
bail till such time the directions issued by this Court on 26 th
March, 2014 were not complied with, the restraint orders
11

would prevent the contemnors from raising necessary funds

to comply with the directions issued by this Court. He urged
that the total amount currently lying in several bank
accounts and/or invested with banks and companies in the
form of FDs, Bonds and securities etc. came to Rs.2500/crores approximately. The broad details of the amounts so
available have been given by Saharas in the note submitted
by Dr. Dhawan as under:
Details of approx. Rs 2500 Crores along with
interest accrued thereon to be paid by Saharas
within 5 working days of lifting the embargo (Pg 39
54)
a)

Fixed Deposits

1688.74 crores

b)

Savings Account

464.44 crores

c)

Current Account

18.45 crores

a)

Securities & Bonds

142.86 crores

b)

Government Bonds

72.33 crores

c)

Bank/PSU Bond

34.85 crores
------------------2421.67 crores
-------------------

Total approx. Rs 2500 crores along with interest

accrued thereon

12

13. Encashment of the FDs, sale and transfer of the bonds

and

securities

would,

argued

Dr.

Dhawan,

help

the

contemnors to partly comply with the directions regarding

deposit of Rs.5000/- crores by moping Rs.2500/- crores. A
further sum of Rs.2500/- crores approximately would have to
be raised for deposit which will be possible only by sale of
the immovable properties situated in nine different cities
details whereof were filed by Dr. Dhawan in the form of a
statement with the estimated value of such properties which
is as under:
Sr. No.

Properties

Valuation as per
the Valuation
Report (Rs. In
crores)

Page Nos. Of
Volume I

1.

Pune

575

60 76 @ 73

2.

Ahmedabad

470

81 -98 @ 94

3.

Amritsar

153.75

99 127 @ 111

4.

Chauma

1430

128 -148 @ 140

5.

Vasai

1169.72

143 160 @ 149

6.

Ajmer

160

161 -175 @ 167

7.

Bhavnagar

103

176 191 @ 188

8.

Jodhpur

112

192 -208 @ 204

9.

Bhopal

125

209 224 222

TOTAL

4298.47

13

14. It was submitted that sale of the above items of

property may also not fully satisfy the conditions stipulated
by this Court for grant of interim bail thereby leave no option
for Saharas except to sell three other items of hotel
properties situated outside the country. One of these hotels
by the name Grosvenor House is situated in London while
the remaining two hotels are in New York (U.S.A.). It was
urged that the said three items of property also need to be
sold to raise the margin money which the banks concerned
insist upon to enable them to issue a bank guarantee. It was
submitted that while the contemnors propose to mortgage
Aamby Valley properties, details whereof are given in the
Annexure B to I.As. No.101-103, the contemnors would
require funds to service any financial arrangement made
with the bank/banks. It was also contended that according to
the estimate of the contemnors, the properties situated in
London and New York would fetch an amount of Rs.5,000/crores to the contemnors which may be utilised in full or in
part towards the margin money necessary for obtaining the
bank guarantee(s). The estimated value of these three
properties is indicated by the contemnors as under :
14

Shares of
entities
owning the
following
offshore
properties

Value as per
the Valuation
report

Expected Sales
Value

Immediate
Advances
expected

Page No.

Grosvenor
House,
London

GBP
516,000,000

GBP 645,000,000

USD 50,000,000

667-Vol III

Rs 63,661,500,000

Rs 2,900,000,000

Plaza Hotel,
New York

USD
592,000,000

USD 635,000,000

USD 50,000,000

Rs 36,830,000,000

Rs 2,900,000,000

USD 252,000,000

USD 50,000,000

Rs 14,616,000,000

Rs 2,900,000,000

Rs
115,107,500,000

USD
150,000,000

Rs
50,929,200,000
415-Vol III

Rs
34,336,000,000
Dreams
Downtown
Hotel, New
York

USD
252,000,000

231-Vol III

Rs
14,616,000,000

Total

Rs
8,700,000,000

Net
Realistic
Equity
Value to
Sahara in
India

Rs
50,366,156,000

15. On behalf of the respondent-SEBI it was argued by Mr.

Venugopal that he has no objection to the encashment of the
FD receipts and other securities and bonds etc. provided the
maturity

value

and

sale

consideration
15

of

such

FDRs,

securities and bonds is directed to be deposited in the

designated bank account of SEBI viz. SEBI Sahara Refund
Account bearing No.012210110003740 with the Bank of
India, Bandra Kurla Complex Branch, Mumbai. As regards
sale or mortgage of properties situated in nine different cities
mentioned above, Mr. Venugopal submitted that appropriate
safeguards need be provided for such sale and transfer. Mr.
Venugopal suggested the following safeguards in this regard:
(i)

Details of valuation, buyer(s) and terms of

sales together with letter (s) of intent be
submitted in advance to this Honble Court;

(ii)

Buyer(s) ought not to be related party/parties

qua the Sahara Group entities/Director etc.
and an affidavit of undertaking to that effect
be filed in this Honble Court.

(iii)

The sale proceeds be deposited by the buyer

directly to the designated Bank Account of
SEBI viz. SEBI-Sahara Refund Account
bearing No.012210110003740 with Bank of
India, Bandra-Kurla Complex Branch, Mumbai;
and

(iv)

Actual release of title deeds by SEBI to the

buyer be made only upon receipt of sale
proceeds in the aforementioned Bank Account.

16. A direction to the effect that the sale of the properties

shall not be for a price lesser than the circle rates prescribed
for the area where the properties are situated was also
suggested as an additional safeguard, by the learned
16

counsel.

It was also submitted by Mr. Venugopal that so

long as the valuation of the assets situated outside the

country is fair and reasonable, the SEBI had no objection to
the sale thereof to enable the contemnors to raise funds
necessary for compliance with the directions of this Court.
17. We

have

given

our

careful

submissions made at the bar.

consideration

to

the

It is apparent, from the

submissions made at the bar, that these IAs have two limbs:
In the first instance, the contemnors want relaxation in the
restraint orders over the Bank deposits and immovable
properties to comply with the directions of this Court
regarding deposit of the amounts. That part of the prayer
does not pose any difficulty, as the same is in aid of
compliance with the directions of this Court. Second set of
prayers is for grant of bail or relaxation of jail conditions in
the interregnum. Here, we have our reservations. We are
not inclined to modify order dated 26 th March, 2014 granting
interim bail to the contemnors upon conditions stipulated in
the said order. We say so because the background in which
the contemnors came to be committed to the jail and the

17

finding recorded by the Court that they have at all earlier

stages tried to adopt dilatory tactics and avoided to comply
with the orders passed by the Court does not in our view call
for any modification of the terms on which the contemnors
can be released. Dr. Dhawan pleaded, in the alternative, that
the least which could be done was to shift the contemnors
from Tihar Jail to a guest house for incarceration to enable
them to take decisions that are necessary for compliance
with the directions issued by this Court.

This request was

opposed by Mr. Venugopal, according to whom similar

requests made repeatedly over several hearings in the past
have been declined by this Court, although no specific order
refusing the same was recorded.

In support of that

submission, our attention was drawn to the averments made

by the applicant in I.As No.2 to 4 filed by them on 20 th May,
2014 which averments clearly show that similar prayers were
indeed made in the past also.
18. Apart from the fact that the prayer now made is a
repetition of similar prayers made in the past which have not
cut any ice with the bench hearing the matter, we see no

18

reason to make a departure from the usual course in the

present case. The Bench has passed a conditional bail order
after due and proper consideration having regard to the
attendant

circumstances

including

conduct

of

the

contemnors. The order can be modified only under very

compelling circumstances. The only reason given by the
applicants

is

that

interim

release

or

transfer

of

the

contemnors to a guest house would enable them to dispose

of the properties speedily and enable them to arrange for the
requisite

Bank

Guarantees.

We

dont

think

so.

It

is

noteworthy that the total amount to be deposited is between

Rs. 33000/- to Rs. 35000/- crores. To show their bonafides,
the contemnors have been directed to deposit less than 1/3 rd
of that amount as a condition for bail. After all, even when
this part of the order is complied with and the contemnors
are set free, they will have to arrange the deposit of the
balance amount, which again is very substantial. That apart,
it is not the case of the contemnors that they or anyone of
them suffers from any medical condition that calls for
hospitalisation or an atmosphere conducive for recovery from
any disease.

This Court has already issued directions

19

permitting

visitation

to

those

who

need

to

visit

the

contemnors in jail. That arrangement has not been found to

be inadequate as at present so to call for any change.
19. The prayer for modification of the order, accordingly,
fails.
20. We, however, find considerable merit in the submission
made by Dr. Dhawan that the restraint order issued by the
SEBI and by this Court forbidding transfer and alienation of
moveable and immoveable assets by the Sahara Group of
companies has the effect of preventing the contemnors from
complying with the directions of this Court which require
them to deposit Rs.5,000/- crores in cash besides a bank
guarantee for a similar amount of Rs.5,000/- crores. While it
is true that the contemnors stand committed to prison for
their non-compliance with the directions of this Court,
nothing should prevent them from taking steps to comply
with the said directions or the conditions subject to which
they have been granted interim bail. Restraint against
transfer of the assets by the contemnors and the companies
promoted by them precisely has the effect of doing so. The
20

question, however, is as to what extent should the orders of

restraint be modified. That aspect assumes importance
because of the fact that Saharas need to eventually deposit
a

substantial

amount

which

according to

the

current

estimate may be in the neighbourhood of Rs. 30,000 to Rs.

35,000 crores inclusive of interest accrued on the principal
amount.

Sale of valuable properties at a price lesser than

the market value of such assets is bound to prejudicially

affect the interest of the depositors and defeat the orders
passed by this Court in its letter and spirit. That is
particularly so because according to Mr. Venugopal, SEBI is
unable to value the properties or process the sale and
transfer thereof.

It was in that background that we had

indicated to Dr. Dhawan learned counsel for the appellants

that the restraint orders cannot be lifted in toto and that
Saharas should come forward with a proposal for sale of such
properties as were sufficient to comply with the interim bail
direction of this Court regarding deposit of Rs.5,000/- crores
in cash and a bank guarantee of Rs.5.000/- in addition. Dr.
Dhawan has pursuant to that observation confined his prayer
for permission to sell/transfer only nine items of properties
21

situated in nine different cities in the country and disclosed

the estimated value of such property in the statement which
we have extracted above. Dr. Dhawan on instructions made
a statement that although the note filed by him mentions the
names of nine different cities without giving details of the
properties situated in those cities but the fact remains that
the properties referred to in the note are only nine in
number and no more.
21. Keeping in view the total number of properties held by
Sahara

Group

of

companies,

transfer

of

sale

and/or

mortgage of the nine items of properties situated in nine

cities mentioned in the note and extracted above should, in
our opinion, suffice to enable the contemnors to comply with
the 26th March, 2014 directions of this Court. In order,
however,

to

ensure

that

the

sale

value

is

fair

and

reasonable, we need to make it clear that no item of

property shall be sold at a price lesser than the circle value
of the properties fixed for the area where such property is
located.

22

22. As regards properties situated in London and New York

we have by an interlocutory Order passed on 29 th May, 2014
directed

the

contemnors

to

furnish

certain

additional

information necessary for permitting the sale of the said

assets.

The

information

demanded

includes

permission/approval from the Bank of China with whom the

said properties are mortgaged and shares held by Saharas
for repayment of the loans borrowed from the said bank
hypothecated/pledged. We have also directed Saharas to get
the amount outstanding towards the loan transactions qua
the said properties confirmed from the Bank of China so as
to give us a clear picture of the extent of liability that
remains to be discharged against the said assets. The fact
that the valuation reports regarding the three assets were
prepared at the instance of the Bank of China shall also have
to be verified and confirmed by the Bank of China, especially
because no sale of the assets in question can be permitted at
a price lesser than the price at which the said assets have
been valued by the valuers who are said to be valuers of
repute. Directions regarding sale of the assets outside the

23

country can, therefore, await the furnishing of information

and verification of the facts.
23. In the result we dispose of these I.As with the following
directions:
(i)

The prayer for modification of the terms

stipulated in our order dated 26 th March,
2014 granting interim bail to the contemnors
is declined and the I.As to that extent
dismissed.

(ii)

Prayer for shifting the contemnors to a guest

house for continued custody and detention till
they comply with the directions of this Court
for their release on interim bail is also
declined and the I.As dismissed to that
extent.

(iii) Orders dated 21st November, 2013 passed by

this Court and that dated 13th February, 2013
passed by SEBI restraining sale and transfer
of moveable and immoveable properties held

24

by Sahara are modified to the following

extent:
(a)

FDs,

bonds

and

securities

held by Sahara Group of companies may be

encashed by the holders thereof subject to the
condition

that

consideration

of

the

maturity

such

FDs,

value/sale
bonds

and

securities shall be deposited in the designated

bank account of SEBI referred to in the earlier
part of this order and details of such maturity
values and sale consideration furnished to this
Court on affidavit to be filed within four weeks
from the date the FDs, bonds and securities
are encashed, sold and/or transferred.
(b)

Immovable properties owned by Sahara Group

of companies situated in 9 different cities
mentioned in the note filed by Dr. Dhawan and
extracted in the body of this order with an
estimated

value

of

Rs.2500/-

crores

are

permitted to be sold by the companies/other

entities

persons

in

whose

names

such

properties are held subject to the condition

that such sales are not for a price lower than
the estimated value indicated in the statement
filed before this Court or the circle rates fixed
for the area in which such properties are
situated. The seller shall furnish to this Court
the details of the valuation of the properties
sold and the terms of sales together with a
declaration that the purchasers is not a related
25

party qua Saharas. Needless to say that upon

deposit of the sale consideration the title
deeds of the property shall be released by
SEBI in favour of the purchaser(s).
(c)

The sale consideration of the properties less

transaction cost and statutory dues on the
same shall be deposited with the SEBI to the
extent the same is necessary to make a total
deposit of Rs.5,000/- crores inclusive of the
maturity value and sale proceeds of the FDs,
bonds and securities etc. permitted to be
encashed and sold in terms of direction (iii)
(a) above. The balance/excess amount of the
sale

consideration

shall

be

deposited

by

Saharas in a separate account to be opened in

a nationalised bank which deposit shall remain
subject to further orders of this Court.
(d)

Saharas are also permitted to charge its

immovable

properties

situated

in

Aamby

Valley (Pune), the details whereof are given in

Annexure B to IAs No.101-103, for purposes of
furnishing a bank guarantee for an amount of
Rs.5,000/-

crores

and/or

for

deposit

of

Rs.5,000/- crores if there is any shortfall

despite encashment and sales permitted in
terms of (iii)(a) and (iii)(b) above.
(e)

In modification of the orders dated 26 th March,

2014, we direct that the Bank guarantees to
the tune of Rs.5000/- crores shall be furnished
from a nationalised bank or a scheduled bank

26

only. Co-operative Bank Guarantees shall not

suffice.
(iv)

In so far as sale of the three properties

situated outside the country are concerned,
the question is left open to be determined
after the requisite documents/information is
made available by Sahara in terms of our
order dated 29th May, 2014.

(v)

Keeping in view the importance of the issues

that

fall

for

determination

in

these

proceedings and the ramifications that the

directions issued by this Court may have as
also the fact that one very important order
which is sought to be enforced in these
proceedings was passed by a three-Judge
Bench, we refer these proceedings to a threeJudge Bench to be constituted by the Honble
Chief Justice of India.
(vi)

We are further of the view that having regard

to the nature of these proceedings and the
stakes that are involved, we need to appoint
27

an amicus curiae. We accordingly, request

Mr. F.S. Nariman, Senior Advocate to assist
the Court as an amicus curiae. Shri Nariman
shall be free to associate two juniors of his
choice to brief him in the matter.
(vii)

We direct that the Amicus curiae shall be paid

his fee @ Rs.1,10,000/- per hearing while the
juniors

assisting

him

shall

be

paid

Rs.10,000/- per person for every hearing.

The amount so due shall be paid by SEBI by
debit to account Saharas.

....J.
(T.S. THAKUR)
....J.
(A.K. SIKRI)
New Delhi
June 4, 2014

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