{
  "id": 1959779,
  "title": "Sahara refunds in limbo as SEBI sits on ₹21,505 crore corpus",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/sahara-refunds-in-limbo-as-sebi-sits-on-21-505-crore-corpus",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-19T15:25:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindu BusinessLine",
    "slug": "hindu-businessline",
    "url": "https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/sahara-refunds-in-limbo-as-sebi-sits-on-21505-crore-corpus/article71365129.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "More than eight years after the SEBI initiated the process to refund investors in the Sahara case, the capital market regulator currently holds a cash reserve of ₹21,505 crore, according to its latest annual report. SEBI has not issued any additional refunds for the fiscal year 2025-26. As of March 2026, the balance in the Sahara refund account surged to approximately ₹16,379 crore, up from ₹16,138 crore in FY25. This balance represents the principal liability of ₹25,781 crore, with the remainder consisting of accrued interest in fixed deposits held across nationalized banks. The total fund balance, including interest, was assessed at about ₹21,505 crore as of March-end, after remitting ₹5,000 crore to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for distribution to investors in Sahara Group's cooperative schemes. The Sahara Group companies have filed a petition in the Supreme Court to sell the remaining assets to Adani Properties. SEBI submitted its response to the Supreme Court in January, stressing the importance of a transparent and fair property sale, subject to conditions set by the court. The matter remains pending before the Supreme Court. Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner at KS Legal & Associates, highlighted the urgency of establishing a clear timeline for dormant or disputed claims, as the current refund mechanism is indefinite without such a procedure. The Special Enforcement Cell, tasked with implementing Supreme Court directives for refunding Sahara investor funds, is under the supervision of retired Justice BN Agarwal.",
  "summary": "Refund corpus continues to grow; SEBI makes no fresh payouts in FY26",
  "key_points": [
    "SEBI holds ₹21,505 crore Sahara refund corpus, no new refunds in FY26",
    "Balance rose to ₹16,379 crore in March 2026 from ₹16,138 crore FY25",
    "Sahara Group seeks asset sale to Adani Properties in Supreme Court"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}