Summary
In a writ petition concerning depositors of the Sahara Group of cooperative societies, the Union of India sought transfer of Rs. 5,000 crores out of about Rs. 24,979 crores lying unutilised in the Sahara-SEBI Refund Account to pay the legitimate dues of those depositors. The Solicitor General stated that Rs. 2,253 crores of the corpus had been taken from Sahara Credit Cooperative Society and deposited with SEBI, and that the amount was free of any charge or attachment. The Supreme Court found the prayer reasonable and in the larger interest of genuine depositors, and directed the transfer to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for transparent disbursal to identified depositors against proof of deposit, under the supervision of a former Judge assisted by an amicus curiae, within nine months, with the balance to be returned to the Refund Account.
Issues
- Whether part of the unutilised corpus in the Sahara-SEBI Refund Account should be transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies to pay the legitimate dues of depositors of the Sahara Group of cooperative societies, and on what terms.
Provisions considered
- Article 32, Constitution of IndiaThe application was made in a pending writ petition under Article 32 and disposed of with directions in exercise of the Court's jurisdiction over the Sahara-SEBI Refund Account created under its earlier orders. (¶¶ 1, 3)
Held
- Since Rs. 2,253 crores had been taken from one of the four Sahara multi-State cooperative societies and deposited in the Sahara-SEBI Refund Account, the amount lying there was unutilised, and genuine depositors of the societies were otherwise entitled to their money, transfer of Rs. 5,000 crores for disbursal to them is reasonable and in the larger public interest. (¶¶ 2, 2.1, 2.2, 3)
- Disbursal must be made in the most transparent manner directly into the bank accounts of genuine depositors on proper identification and proof of deposit and claim, supervised and monitored by Justice R. Subhash Reddy, former Judge of the Court, assisted by Shri Gaurav Agarwal as amicus curiae, with modalities to be worked out by the Central Registrar in consultation with them, and completed within nine months; the balance is to be transferred back to the Sahara-SEBI Refund Account. (¶ 3)
Result
Application disposed of; Rs. 5,000 crores to be transferred from the Sahara-SEBI Refund Account to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for payment to genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of cooperative societies within nine months under the supervision of Justice R. Subhash Reddy with amicus curiae Shri Gaurav Agarwal, on monthly honoraria of Rs. 15 lakhs and Rs. 5 lakhs respectively; balance to be returned to the Refund Account.