Unsatisfied with Sahara’s roadmap to repay its 3.3 crore investors by July 2019, the Supreme Court, in an effort to expedite the recovery process, attached the group’s R39,000-crore Aamby Valley project. The luxurious project is located in the hill station of Lonavala in Maharashtra.

A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and AK Sikri asked Sahara to give on or before February 20 a list of unencumbered properties that can be put to public auction to realise the remaining more than R14,000 crore the two group companies owe as the principal amount towards its liability.

The case will be heard next on February 27.

Sahara, meanwhile, deposited R634 crore as per the January order of the apex court that extended the parole of its chief Subrata Roy subject to depositing of the amount. Roy is out on parole since May last year after spending two years at Delhi’s Tihar Jail. The 68-year-old head of the Sahara Group and two other directors had been granted parole when Roy’s mother died, and it had been extended six times since then.

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After counsel for the Securities and Exchange Board of India Pratap Venugopal on Monday told the court that the interest towards the debt as of now stands over R36,000 crore, Gogoi asked as to why the court should even bother to ask Sahara for a list of other auctionable properties when the group already has Aamby Valley. “If you have got Aamby Valley, why do we need list of properties… Either you speed up your schedule of repayment or we will go ahead with the auction of your properties to settle your debts. Don’t be under an assumption that we will agree to your roadmap of July 2019,” the judge said.

Gogoi further said, “Why should we assemble every week just to collect token amounts of Rs 150 crore or Rs 200 crore from you (Sahara)? We will put the properties to public auction and then we will have to see how much of the Rs 14,000 crore needs to be paid to all and sundry depositors… After taking out Rs 14,000 crore, we will give the rest back to you,” he added.

Misra also said that they have no choice but to attach Aamby Valley. “You have left us with no option. If you want to save it, give us the list of unencumbered properties which have a good value,” he said, adding that the only way to ensure compliance was to get the list of Sahara properties that have absolutely “no encumbrances whatsoever”.

Amicus curiae Shekhar Naphade told the court that that Aamby Valley was itself “substantial” enough for the recovery of the amount.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Sahara, pleaded that Aamby Valley was the group’s main source of generating revenue. “If you take away all my resources, I will not have anything to generate money… Don’t do this. There are businesses there. There are hotel resorts. Already there is a restraint order on the property from this court…” the counsel contended.

“An attachment is different from mere restraint… You say you want to keep Aamby Valley. God help you. Then give us other properties which we can order to be put up for public auction and fetch money,” Misra said.

Sibal also sought two hours’ time to show the errors in earlier judgments. “Look at how much time we have given you… It has been over a year. And even now Sibal wants two hours?” Gogoi retorted.

Sibal also said that 85% of the investors have been paid. “So once Rs 14,000 crore is got from the auction and put in the Sahara-Sebi account, who will the money be paid to?” The Sahara counsel asked. “We will deal with that then… First the money,” Gogoi repeated.

Roy and the two directors are in judicial custody since March 4, 2014, for not complying with the apex court’s August 31, 2012, and December 5, 2012, orders relating to refund of over Rs 24,029 crore raised from three crore bond investors by two group firms.

The Sahara Group had in November presented roadmap to the SC for repayment of an outstanding amount of over Rs 14,000 crore to Sebi and had proposed to clear its liability in 21 instalments in two-and-a-half years to ensure “absolute” release of its chief.