The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed resale of Apollo Tyres? 4.95% equity?originally held by Harshad Mehta and his family?which its promoters, the OS Kanwar family, had purchased pursuant to the special court’s orders in the 1992 Securities scam.

A bench comprising justice DK Jain and AK Ganguly partly allowed the appeal of Ashwin Mehta?Harshad Mehta?s brother?challenging the Mumbai Special Court’s order allowing the sale of bulk holding shares back to Apollo Tyres.

However, it said that the relief sought by Ashwin Mehta to rescind the entire sale of 54,88,850 shares will be impracticable and fraught with grave difficulties and the relief should be confined to 4.95% of the shares only.

It remitted the case to the Special Court for taking necessary steps to recover the 4.95% shares from Apollo or its management and put them to fresh sale strictly in terms of the norms as approved by it on August 23, 2001.

Besides, the shareholders who will be affected by the order shall be entitled to the sale consideration paid by them to the Custodian alongwith simple interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of payment by them up to the date of actual reimbursement by the custodian in terms of this order, Justice DK Jain, writing the judgment for the bench stated.

While accepting the submissions of the Mehta family that the special court failed to make a serious effort to realise the highest possible price for the shares, the apex court said: ?We also feel that the special court overlooked the norms laid down by it and glossed over the procedural irregularities committed by the Custodian”.

Apollo Tyres and the Kanwars had purchased 54,88,850 shares amounting to 15.1% of the company?s equity from the custodian on April 25, 2003 at R90 per share. Senior counsel Joseph Vellapally, appearing for Apollo, had argued the Mehta family had no locus standi to assail the entire sale of 54.88 lakh shares as their shareholding was only 1,49,570 shares. Even the co-bidders with Apollo, had reiterated that they were the bonafide bidders, having no concern with the procedure adopted by the custodian for sale of shares.