The Supreme Court today appointed the official receiver of the Bombay High Court to help the official liquidator in the auction of Sahara Group's Aamby Valley property.
The court ordered a fresh round of auctions which is likely to conclude in the next eight weeks. The official receiver will work in coordination with official liquidator and the company judge in the auction process.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra also warned the Sahara Group that it may be liable to contempt and its chief Subrata Roy may be sent to jail if its obstructs the auction.
The top court was irked when SEBI had claimed in a previous hearing that the group had allegedly obstructed the process by writing a letter to the Pune police raising the issue of law and order at its Aamby Valley property. Taking note of SEBI's allegation, the court had said that the group could not have entered into a communication with Pune's Superintendent of the Police (Rural) on the issue since the auction has been ordered by the top court.
SEBI had alleged that no bidder was willing to take part in the auction as the police has taken custody of the property.
The court had ordered the Aamby Valley auction to recover investors' money from the group. It stems from a 2012 order that asked two Sahara companies to refund Rs 24,000 crore, along with 15 percent interest, to more than two crore small investors who had invested in their optionally-fully convertible debentures between 2008 and 2011. The SEBI had ruled the fundraise illegal.
Roy was sent to jail on March 4, 2014 for failing to pay Rs 10,000 crore as ordered by the court. After Roy's mother died in May last year, the apex court granted him parole. The interim arrangement has since continued.
(With inputs from PTI)
Also Read: Aamby Valley Auction: SEBI Files Contempt Plea Against Sahara
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