SAT rejects Sahara appeal against SEBI

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), on Thursday, rejected an appeal by the Sahara Group companies — Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited — to accept pay orders of Rs.5,1200000000 towards the liability of the two companies to SEBI. The Sahara Group appealed to the Tribunal to direct the Registrar, SAT to accept custody of the amount to be paid by them to SEBI by November 30, being the total amount payable towards the repayment to investors of optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD) issued by the Sahara group companies, as per the direction of the Supreme Court. “We fail to understand how this Tribunal gets the jurisdiction to entertain this appeal when the parties are supposed to take action in accordance with the directions given by the Supreme Court,” SAT wrote in its order. Admittedly, the appellants (Sahara Group companies) have not yet tendered the money to the Board as per directions of the Supreme Court, SAT observed. “We are, therefore, of the view that any further direction or modification in the directions issued by the Supreme Court can be sought for and granted by that Court alone,” SAT added. The appeal is filed by Sahara India Real Estate Corporation and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation, impugning the letter dated November 1, issued by SEBI to the two companies asking them to furnish details of all the bank accounts and properties. These companies have failed to furnish the documents to SEBI within the stipulated time and, thereby, violated the direction of the Supreme Court, SAT observed. The Sahara Group was apprehending that SEBI might not accept the payments that might be tendered in compliance with the orders of Supreme Court as the Board had arbitrarily refused to accept the documents/information with regard to the investors of the OFCD issued by the Sahara group companies.