The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) is likely to pass a final judgement in the case involving the high profile Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on March 26 in New Delhi.
SAT is hearing Roy’s plea against SEBI challenging its decision of attaching properties and freezing bank accounts belonging to him, his two firms—Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHICL) and Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and their three directors.
After hearing both the parties for almost five hours, SAT Presiding Officer P.K. Malhotra and SAT member Jog Singh adjourned the case saying that the tribunal would take some time to study the arguments filed by the Sahara chief and the market regulator. The market watchdog was acting on the directions of the Supreme Court, which asked SEBI to freeze the accounts and attach the properties.
The apex court in August last year had ordered the two Sahara group firms to refund about Rs 24,000 crore to the investors with 15 per cent interest and had asked SEBI to facilitate the refund. Sahara Group’s two firms had raised the amount via Optionally Fully Convertible Debenture (OFCDs).
Arguing on behalf of Roy, senior counsel S. Ganesh, said that the action taken by SEBI against his client was unjustified as Subrata Roy was not a director in the two group companies of Sahara, directed to refund the money.
“The action by SEBI has made Subrata Roy almost bankrupt and he has not been able to pay his mobile bills,” the senior counsel said.
SEBI’s counsel Arvind Datar said that Subrata Roy has been named in all the legal documents as the chief executive officer of Sahara India that has about 17 per cent stake each in SIRCL and SHICL.
He said that Sahara India that started as a micro finance company played a leading role in the collection of money through OFCDs and that the money was mobilised in various projects under SIRCL and SHICL.
Of the total money raised, Rs 5000 crore went to the ambitious Amby Valley project alone. Further, Rs 3000 crore was invested in about 64 properties across the country.