SEBI's ₹23,191 crore Sahara refund remains unprocessed, raising concerns over clarity and timelines for investor payouts. According to The Economic Times, the capital market regulator has not made any fresh refund during 2025-26, with the balance in the Sahara refund account increasing to about ₹16,379 crore as of March-end 2026 against ₹16,138 crore in FY25. The balance was against the principal liability of ₹25,781 crore, as reported by SEBI in its latest annual report.
As of March-end, the total fund balance, including accrued interest in FDs across various nationalised banks, stood at about ₹23,191 crore after remitting ₹5,000 crore to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for disbursing to investors in schemes of Sahara Group of Co-operative Societies. According to The Economic Times, SEBI had previously put the total amount refunded by it as of March 31, 2020 at ₹115.2 crore (concerning 15,140 applications). The number of disputed cases at that time was much higher at 229, while the count of closed cases was lower at 1,688. Both the Sahara Group companies have filed an application in the Supreme Court to sell the entire remaining asset to Adani Properties.
The special enforcement cell was constituted by SEBI to specifically implement the directions of the Supreme Court to refund the amounts collected from investors of Sahara India Real Estate Corporation and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation. According to The Economic Times, the Special Court in Mumbai is expected to soon frame charges against the accused- Sahara chairman Subrata Roy and his accomplices under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Act, considered to be the first stage for the commencement of trial. The Supreme Court has tagged this matter with pending petitions. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that two Sahara Group companies illegally raised over ₹24,000 crore through optionally fully convertible debentures from 23 million investors mostly small-towns bypassing market regulator rules and ordered full refund with 15 per cent interest.
Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner, KS Legal & Associates, highlighted the more pressing concern as the absence of a clear end point. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, she stated that a refund mechanism cannot realistically continue indefinitely without a defined procedure for dormant or disputed claims. Chandwani emphasized that the court should require the authorities to publish a definite roadmap showing how long claims will remain open, how unresolved claims will be dealt with and what will happen to the balance thereafter.
