In a major setback to the Sahara Group, the Supreme Court today directed two of its companies to refund around Rs 17,400 crore to their investors within
three months with 15 per cent interest. A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar directed SEBI to take action against the companies of Sahara India Real Estate Corporation and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation, if they fail to refund the money. The apex court allowed the regulatory body to attach properties and freeze bank accounts of these two companies if they did not comply with its order.

The bench further directed SEBI to conduct investigation against these companies to find out their actual subscriber base besides getting other relevant information. It also directed the companies to furnish all their documents and account details to SEBI. The court also appointed a former apex court judge B N Aggarwal to oversee the probe by SEBI against the two Sahara firms.