New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Official Receiver of the Bombay High Court to take possession of the Aamby valley project to facilitate the auction of the properties.
A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and A.K. Sikri passed this order after Sebi informed the court that the attempts of the Official Liquidator to auction the Aamby valley project did not materialise as there were no bidders.
Sebi sought permission for re-auction and to vest the property with the Official Receiver so that it was maintained till the auction was completed.
The Bench asked the Company Law Judge to assist the Official Liquidator in conducting the auction and Justice A.S. Voka would also work in unison with them.
The Bench also asked the Official Receiver to ensure that the property was maintained so that the valley did not diminish.
Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi for Sahara refuted Sebi’s allegations and it was not behaving as a regulator. “We have no objection for the auction but there are no buyers. There are no encroachments in the Township as alleged as Sahara was maintaining it for the last 20 years with hospitals, schools and other infrastructure.
Senior counsel Arvind P. Datar for Sebi sought permission for conducting re-auction and to commence the process once again.
He brought to the notice of the court a statement made by the Sahara chief that the total value of Aamby Valley alone was about Rs 2 lakh crores and Sahara was the biggest employer after Railways.
If this is the real position what was the real problem in settling the dues to the tune of Rs 24,000 crores, he asked.
In an order the Bench asked two judges of the Bombay High Court to proceed with the auction and adopt a procedure that would facilitate the auction and would fetch more money. The bench posted the matter for further hearing in the first week of February 2018.
