Vandana Ramnani
Moneycontrol News
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Sahara Group to choose any parcel of its iconic Aamby Valley property, sell it by May 15 and deposit Rs 750 crore in a designated SEBI-Sahara account. If it does this, it may not need to proceed with the auction of the 6,700-acre township near Pune.
The court has set the next date for hearing in the case on May 16.
But if the company fails to sell part of the property by the deadline, the Bombay High Court's official liquidator will proceed with the proposed auctioning process to sell the property, the special bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said.
It noted the reports filed by the official liquidator and the court receiver appointed to maintain the Aamby Valley properties, and said that Sahara Group will start maintenance, sources present at the hearing said.
Read more: Five facts about the Aamby Valley project
The official liquidator, in its report, said that it has commenced the procedures for auctioning the Aamby Valley property for which bids will be invited from May 21 to 31 and the auction would begin from June 2.
A statement by Sahara’s advocate Gautam Awasthi read, “Hon'ble Supreme Court today appreciated that the Saharas have deposited more than Rs 17,000 crore and they deserve a hearing, as lot of issues are required to be looked into which are creating a situation where despite depositing so much money the necessary directions to solve the situation are not been passed. In that directions Supreme Court today differed the auction of Aamby Valley and have given Sahara a chance to deposited Rs 750 crore by 15th of May 2018. If Sahara deposits Rs 750 crore by 15th May then the auction process of Aamby Valley will be abandoned.”
Read more: Who will buy Sahara’s Aamby Valley project?
Roy, who has spent almost two years in jail, has been on parole since May 6, 2017, which was granted to him to attend the funeral of his mother. It has been extended since then.
On November 23, the apex court had granted liberty to 2 Bombay High Court judges to adopt procedures to facilitate the auctioning of the properties and directed the liquidator not to allow any obstruction in the process.
Read more: Why Sahara’s Aamby Valley auction is set for failure
Earlier, the apex court had taken strong exception to the Sahara Group allegedly obstructing the auctioning process and warned that anyone indulging in such an act would be held liable for contempt and "sent to jail".
The auction of the property was first scheduled for October and then for December, but no bids were received.
The integrated hill city township is spread across 6,761.642 acres in the great Sahyadri mountain range. The reserve price of the property was earlier set at Rs 37,392 crore.
Multiple real estate consultants had told Moneycontrol last year that it would be almost impossible for a single real estate player to buy such a huge property, mainly because the sector is going through a severe cash crunch and it is difficult for a single company to arrange a large loan from a bank.
The property was described by the liquidator as an "ultra-exclusive chartered city" that includes timber chalets, modern villas, a golf course, hospital, school, and airport, among other amenities.
Sahara, that had earlier pegged the project's market valuation at over Rs 1 lakh crore, has been engaged in a long-running battle with capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!