Sebi may approach SC if Sahara fails to repay on Jan 5

The Sebi vs Sahara battle continues in the New Year. Both sides are burning the midnight oil to make their case in the apex court. While Sahara has moved a review petition against the court's order directing it to repay investors, Sebi has moved a contempt petition against the Subrata Roy promoted behemoth.The deadline for Sahara to repay Rs 10,000 crore to its investors expires on January 5, reports CNBC-TV18 Sajeet Manghat and Sandeep Srikanth.

The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Radhakrishnan is expected to hear Sebi's contempt petition against Sahara on January 8, even as Sahara seeks a review of the order directing it to repay its investors.  Sahara counsel, Mukul Rohatgi also approached the chief justice's bench seeking a stay and modification of the courts previous judgment but the Chief Justice of India refused to take up the petition. Justice Altmas Kabir has asked Sahara to approach Justice Radhakrishnan's bench. As per the Supreme Court (SC) order, Sahara has been given time till January 5, to repay Rs 10,000 to its investors as part of the second tranche of the total payment. Sahara has argued against making the payment, claiming it has already repaid investors and can instead furnish bank guarantees. Failure to make the payment by the January 5th deadline may strengthen Sebi's contempt petition.  Sources say, Sahara is yet to submit all documents pertaining its Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCD) bond holders to Sebi as was directed by the SC. We learned that while Sahara has submitted nearly all application forms of the 3.5 crore investors, it is yet to fully submit the vouchers providing proof of refunds to investors. Sahara has submitted vouchers for nearly 2.5 crores investors as on December 20, the revised deadline set by the SC for submission of documents. If Sahara fails to repay investors by January 5, Sebi may move a fresh contempt plea in the apex court.