SC allows Sahara to sell 4 properties worth over Rs 2700 cr

New Delhi The Supreme Court today permitted the Sahara Group to proceed with the sale of four domestic properties which is likely to fetch Rs 2710 crore in its bid to raise Rs 10000 crore for the release of its jailed chief Subrato RoyThe court allowed the group to sell properties in Jodhpur Pune Chauma in Gurgaon and Vasai in Mumbai after it was satisfied that the transactions were in accordance with its June 4 orderSubrata Roy File PicThis order had stated 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 situatedA bench headed by Justice T S Thakur was told that the transactions for these properties would be completed by May 2015 and in the meantime the purchasers would deposit postdated cheques in the name of SEBISahara refund account with undertakings that those would be honoured on due datesThe bench also comprising justices A R Dave and A K Sikri was informed that the group has already generated Rs 1845 crore as part payment for its assets in Jodhpur Chauma and Vasai and following which it was allowed to hand over three demand drafts and one cheque to SEBIs counselRegarding the sale of Pune property which would fetch Rs 550 crore Sahara group through senior advocates Rajiv Dhawan and S Ganesh said that the agreement was not signed due to unavoidable circumstances and in the near future the deal will be through and it is expected to get Rs 50 crore as initial part paymentAccepting the proposal the bench permitted it to go ahead with the proposed deal and deposit Rs 50 crore with SEBISahara refund accountOut of the list of nine domestic properties Sahara has already sold its Ahmedabad property and has raised Rs 41182 crores which has gone into the account of SEBIHowever Sahara Group would have to wait for getting clearance for raising junior loan of USD 650 million approx Rs 3600 crore as a part of the scheme to overcome the liability with Bank of China which had lent money to it in purchasing stakes in three overseas hotels Dream Downtown and The Plaza in New York and Grosvenor House in LondonSEBIs counsel Arvind Dattar and senior advocate Shekhar Naphade who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter submitted that certain terms of transactions were not clear like the issue of escrow agent and the liability which is likely to rise for the SaharaThe bench asked the Sahara Group to provide all information sought by the amicus and the market regulator within a week and posted the matter for further hearing on December 17At the outset Dhawan said substantial amout has been paid by Sahara Group to SEBI and Rs 1882 crore remains and it be allowed to give cheques for remaining duesWe would not like to accept postdate cheques at this stage the bench saidThe group also sought courts specific direction with regard to its bid to sell the Pune property and said that some sort of confusion has been created due to some media reportsYou have already been permitted the court said During the hearing the court expressed dissatisfaction over the progess in the sale of properties and suggested that it can also assist in their disposal by taking help of an assets management companyEarlier Sahara Group had approched the court with a fresh proposal for securing release of Subrato Roy Roy who was sent to jail on March 4 this year for non refund of over Rs 20000 crore with interest to depositors was asked by the court to pay Rs 10000 crore to get bail out of which Rs 5000 crore should be paid in cash and rest of the amount in bank guaranteeSahara which earlier had raised Rs 3117 crore and deposited with SEBI has told the court that out of nine domestic assets it has now sold an Ahmedabad property and raised Rs 41182 crores which has also gone into account of the market regulatorEarlier SEBI had moved the court seeking its direction to Sahara group to give a time schedule for payment of Rs 47000 crore to itIn the application SEBI had submitted that the group be directed to furnish all details before the court regarding offers it received for its three luxury hotels which was to be put on sale to raise money to be deposited with itThe apex court had earlier allowed Roy 65 to use the conference room in Tihar jail complex to hold negotiations with potential buyers for selling the hotels in New York and London