Supreme Court Approves ₹5,000 Crore Payout to Sahara Depositors

The Supreme Court has allowed the release of ₹5,000 crore from the SEBI–Sahara refund account. The money will be used to repay depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies. The order was passed by Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi on an application filed by the Centre.

The court extended the deadline for completing the disbursal to December 31, 2026. Earlier, the deadline was December 31, 2025. The ₹5,000 crore allocation was first permitted in 2023.

Transfer and Monitoring

The money will move from the SEBI-Sahara refund account to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies. The registrar has to release it to verified depositors. The transfer must be completed within a week. Former Supreme Court judge R Subhash Reddy will monitor the process with senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal as amicus curiae.

Background of the Case

The Centre sought approval through a PIL filed by Pinak Pani Mohanty. The case concerns repayments to investors in Sahara credit firms and chit fund companies. The SEBI-Sahara refund account was created after a 2012 order asking Sahara India Real Estate Corporation and Sahara Housing India Corporation to refund money collected from investors.

Claims by Depositors

As per news reports, so far, depositors have filed claims worth ₹1,13,504.12 crore. Around 5.43 crore investors are involved. Refunds of ₹5,053.01 crore have been made to 26,25,090 depositors found genuine.

Read more: Sahara Cooperative Refunds: ₹5,139 Crore Paid to Over 27 Lakh Depositors!

Pending Applications

An additional 13,34,994 investors have filed claims online. These claims total ₹27,849.95 crore and are at various stages of scrutiny. The Centre estimates that around 32 lakh more claims may be filed before the end of December 2026.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s order permits another round of disbursals from the SEBI-Sahara account. The money will be distributed to genuine depositors after verification under judicial supervision.

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