The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday granted the Union government four additional weeks to respond to two applications filed by Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL) which seek approval to sell 88 of the group’s properties, including Aamby Valley in Maharashtra and Sahara Shahar in Lucknow, to Adani Properties Pvt Ltd. The proposed transaction, finalised through a term-sheet dated 6 September 2025, forms Sahara’s latest attempt to monetise its assets and repay long-pending investor dues.
A bench comprising chief justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, justice Surya Kant and justice MM Sundresh accepted the request from solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta for more time and posted the matter for hearing after six weeks. In a significant development, the SC also directed that the Union ministries of finance (MoF) and cooperation be impleaded as parties to the proceedings, noting that issues involving cooperative societies and the broader financial regulatory framework require the Union government’s input.
“The SG says it will be appropriate that before considering the prayers made in the application, the Union must be heard. We direct the applicant to implead the MoF,” the bench says.
SG Mehta also submitted that several cooperative societies linked to Sahara are under scrutiny and that the government 'may have to examine and put its thoughts' before the court finalises any sale approval.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal appeared for Sahara, while senior counsel Shekhar Naphade, serving as amicus curiae, informed the bench that he has received multiple claims over properties allegedly not disclosed by the group. He requested that Sahara be directed to publish a full list of assets on its website. The court, however, declined to issue such directions at this stage.
In line with earlier orders, the bench asked the amicus to prepare a detailed chart identifying which of the 88 properties are under dispute, which are free of claims and where ownership rights remain uncertain. “We request the amicus to take help of an assisting counsel who can collate such information,” the SC says.
The move comes after several parties submitted competing claims over parcels of land, hotels and township projects proposed for sale.
The Court also adjourned applications filed by Sahara employees seeking release of pending salaries from group entities, directing Sahara to examine employee claims before the next hearing.
In its applications, Sahara argued that despite repeated attempts by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the attached assets have not been liquidated, while ongoing investigations and attachment orders have paralysed the group’s ability to dispose properties. It says the group’s internal decision-making capacity has weakened significantly following the death of founder Subrata Roy in November 2023, leaving no central leadership figure to navigate complex regulatory and legal processes.
Sahara told the Court that it had independently deposited about Rs16,000 crore into the SEBI–Sahara refund account, asserting that SEBI has not succeeded in selling its assets, despite having authority to do so. SEBI, however, maintains that over Rs9,000 crore remains outstanding, with only a limited number of investors having come forward to claim refunds.
The applications seek the Court’s permission to sell the 88 properties to Adani Properties, lift existing restraint or attachment orders, and constitute an oversight committee chaired by a retired judge from the apex court. The proposed committee would supervise the sale, evaluate objections or competing bids, and oversee disbursement of proceeds to investors, creditors, employees and statutory authorities. Sahara has also sought a moratorium on parallel investigations by the enforcement directorate (ED), serious fraud investigation office (SFIO), central bureau of investigation (CBI) and state police, arguing that coercive action would undermine attempts to maximise value from the asset sale.
A parallel application by Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) urged the SC to supervise utilisation of the sale proceeds, warning that once the properties are sold, the group would be left without operational businesses to meet obligations including unpaid salaries, gratuity, provident fund dues, taxes and payments to vendors.
Both applications emphasise the need for the Court to exercise its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to resolve all competing claims and enable the earliest possible repayment to millions of investors affected by the Sahara–SEBI OFCD case, where the SC in 2012 had directed Sahara to deposit around Rs24,000 crore towards repayment.
With the Union government now formally impleaded and the amicus directed to map property claims, the Court is expected to take up the matter next on 17 November 2025.
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