The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Sahara Group to consider submitting details of its firms' “unencumbered” properties to ensure that the interests of around 2.3 crore investors are protected.

It asked Sahara Group to provide a list of its assets or bank guarantees in this regard, and sought to know if the group has sufficient immovable properties to meet the liability to creditors.

The court was hearing a plea by the Sahara group against the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order asking two of its companies to refund Rs 17,400 crore to its investors. The matter will now be heard after three weeks.

On its part, Sahara Group said in its affidavit filed before the Apex court on its plans to protect those invested in Sahara Housing Investment Corporation and Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (now known as Sahara Commodity Services Corporation Ltd) that it has provided details of properties, including those that are immovable.

It added that the present assets of the company were enough to protect its investors' interests, since its assets were thrice more than its liabilities.

During the last hearing on January 9, the Apex court said until its further directions, its stay on the SAT order will continue.

Last November the court had stayed the SAT order and directed the Sahara group firms to submit in an affidavit the details of their companies' net worth, assets and liabilities, financial statements including their balance sheets (2010-11) and their statement of accounts (for November 2011) as well as their plans to protect the 2.3 crore investors who had invested in two of its companies.

In October last year SAT asked the Sahara group firms to refund within six weeks the money that was raised through optionally fully convertible debentures.

>arun.s@thehindu.co.in

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