Pay Rs 5,000 crore or Aamby Valley will be auctioned off, Supreme Court tells Sahara

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reiterated that if Subrata Roy’s Sahara failed to deposit the requisite Rs 5,000 crore by April, Aamby Valley would be auctioned off. In its February order, the apex court had attached Sahara’s crown jewel, the Rs 39,000-crore Aamby Valley project, in order to expedite the recovery of Rs 14,779 crore the company owed to its duped investors.  

So far, Sahara has managed to repay a little over Rs 11,000 crore. Pursuant to an earlier order, Sahara deposited approximately Rs 600 crore with the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Monday. Kapil Sibal, representing Sahara, had sought time till July 2019 to deposit the balance of Rs 14,779 crore with SEBI. 

However, this only takes care of the principal amount. “The issue of the interest amount will be adverted to after the deposit of the principal amount,” a special bench led by Justice Dipak Misra had then said. 

The court also allowed real estate firm MG Capital Holdings, LLC, who had expressed interest in buying the historic Midtown Manhattan Plaza Hotel owned by Sahara for Rs 750 crore (or $120 million), to show its bonafide interest. The real estate firm has offered to pay $550 million for the iconic 20-storey luxury hotel and condominium apartment building located at 768, Fifth Avenue in New York City. 

Sahara, which allegedly duped its investors of Rs 24,000 crore, has been finding ways to raise money to pay off the principal amount. If Sahara fails to deposit a substantial portion of the Rs 5,000 crore, then Roy may be sent back to jail.