Sahara to SEBI: Expedite investor verification, ads won't help

Hitting back at Sebi, embattled Sahara group today said issuance of advertisements would not help the regulator reach out to the investors spread across remote parts of the country and offered its help in verifying 95 per cent bondholders it claims to have already refunded. 

"The proof of the pudding is in eating. Sahara is confident that verification will prove not only the existence of the investors but also Sahara will get all its money which is with Sebi," the group said in a statement.

This follows comments made by Sebi's Whole-Time Member S Raman yesterday on the sidelines of a conference in Mumbai, where he wondered why not many claimants were coming forward to get back the money in the high-profile Sahara case.

"As far as Sahara is concerned, we have a decent amount of money but not many claimants. That is a question mark, as to why there are no claimants despite the fact that we have made multiple advertisements seeking applications to pay the money," he had said.

Terming his comments as "misguiding and irresponsible", Sahara accused Sebi of indulging in 'media trial' on Sahara- Sebi matter when the case was 'sub-judice'.

It said the regulator was not finding many claimants because "Sebi in four years has not initiated on-ground verification of the investors".

The group further said that Sebi has issued four newspaper advertisements directed towards only those investors who have yet to get refund. But, "the majority 95 per cent who have already got back their money are neither addressed in these advertisements nor will they anyway, bother to reply to Sebi (even if asked) as they have already got their money refunded from Sahara."

"Besides, it is imperative to understand that almost entire majority of Sahara investors (including the remaining 5 per cent investors) reside in the remote parts of rural India and are mostly illiterate or barely literate.

"Many of them live in mud houses, hutments and even slums, where there are no street names or house numbers (as there are no municipalities in small villages to allot house numbers, etc). Therefore, instead of merely issuing advertisements, a more serious and detailed approach should be adopted by Sebi to reach out to our investors," it said.

The group further said "Sahara with its more than 12 lakh workers has an unparalleled reach to investors".

Citing the Supreme Court order that Sebi can take help of Sahara for verification of investors, the group said, "It is not possible to reach out to these small investors and Sahara is always ready to assist Sebi in reaching out to the aforesaid investors."

Sahara is engaged in a long-running dispute with the Sebi over schemes involving raising of funds from public through certain bonds and the group was asked to return thousands of crores along with interest to the investors through the regulator.

"The entire desire of ours is to distribute as much money as possible," Raman had said.

Reacting to Raman's comments about Sahara giving truckloads of documents not connected to one another and the regulator undertaking the gargantuan task of sifting through those, Sahara said the group was asked to send all the document pertaining to 3 crore investors to Sebi in 10 days.

"The OFCD (bonds through which money was raised) was not closed and in fact in process of refund to a large number of investors was on. In this scenario many of the document were at our head office while a big number of documents were at our more than 4,000 branches.

"Keeping in mind the time limit of 10 days, we collected all the original documents as it is from all our offices across India and had sent the same to Sebi is boxes through 127 trucks," Sahara said in a detailed statement.

Stating that there was no fault on Sahara's part, it further said, "The documents of 3 crore investors cannot be handful and quite understandably will be huge in number because it contains the proofs of repayments of three crore investors - original repayment vouchers, receipts, KYC and other relevant documents.”

"Further, Sahara had in fact offered Sebi to help in the collation of documents and stationed its 50 officials in Sebi's Mumbai office to assist the market regulator. We were even ready to increase the number of officials to many hundred, but Sebi has refused to take their help. "Moreover, Sebi refused to take around 25 per cent of the documents which are still lying in our warehouses in Mumbai," it added.

It further accused Sebi of not having made "any serious effort" to start the verification even after two years of having claimed to have successfully organized the documents.

It further asserted that verification of "documented proofs" provided by Sahara would prove that all its "investors actually exist".

The group said the amount deposited so far with Sebi is more than Rs 14,000 crore, including interest earned, and recently it has given additional Rs 500 crore, though Sebi has refunded only Rs 55 crore.

SEBI : SAHARA ISSUE MISCHIEVIOUS STATEMENT BY SEBI LAWYER Mr.DATTAR

We object to misleading statements made by Sebi lawyer, Mr. Arvind Dattar in public and media. His statement in media tends to mislead by creating an impression as if 'Saharasri' Subrata Roy Sahara wanted to go abroad before incarceration.  The fact however is that, 'Saharasri' was abroad and immediately returned to the country on being summoned. In November, 2013, the Hon’ble Supreme Court had restrained ‘Saharasri’ and other directors from leaving the country without permission. It is very important to state that subsequently Saharasri was granted permission by Hon’ble Supreme Court to travel abroad for two weeks, yet he did not go abroad. It is therefore clear that the statement given by SEBI’s senior lawyer Mr. Dattar is absolutely incorrect.

In 2012 Sahara has repaid to 95% of its Investors.  Nobody believed that.

But now Sebi in their 4th all India Advertisement through around 144 publications has clearly said that this is the last chance esteemed Investors to lodge their claims with SEBI seeking refund.

For last 43 Months uptil, now demand of repayment to public is only Rs.52.80 crores whereas Sebi already has Sahara's around Rs.13700 crores (with interest earned) available with them and till now Sebi has refunded to public only Rs.51.84 crores. Above all we have to pay Rs.5300 crores (including B.G. of Rs.5000 crores) more to get the bail of chairman and two directors. Also Sebi is holding land asset worth around Rs.40000 crores.

So Sahara is giving security of Rs.59000 crores for only around 104 crores repayment to public to be done by Sebi ever. Sebi do not agree worth of land asset as Rs.40000 crores, They say it is Rs.20000 crores. Even then it is 39000 crores security against Rs.104 crores requirement for repayment to public.

The fact also remains, that Sahara did everything as per law prevailing at that time. Sahara did this OFCD business with written permission of 3 Registrar of Companies under Ministry of Corporate Affairs. For continuously 7-8 years registrar of companies took our balance sheets etc, received the submission of prospectus, did dozens of inspections and investigations, we filed our return every year with registrar of companies etc.

Then why the case is against Sahara by Sebi. Sebi should lodge case against 3 registrar of companies, Ministry of Corporate affairs.




Advocate On Record Gautam Awasthi
Supreme Court

Why I want to read Subrata Roy’s book titled Life Mantras

A wise person once said, “situations can make or break you”. You can either let the situation affect you and your outlook or you can see how to make the most of it. Life Mantras written by Saharasri Subrata Roy isn’t an autobiography but rather a philosophy of sorts derived from his current as well as past life scenarios. Having been imprisoned since 2014, Subrata Roy has indeed faced hardships. The judicial case launched against him has not only shaken his empire but also the perception people have of him. It may seem hard to form an idea of who Saharasri really is but as the saying goes ‘as a man thinketh so he is’. Life Mantras is Saharasri Subrata Roy’s reflection of his mind and the life experiences/ jewels that he dwells on. Being in jail may have confined him physically but Subrata decided that four walls could not confine his free-spirited mind and his generous heart to share his knowledge with the world. Managing a business as large as Sahara India not only helped Subrata Roy perfect his business skills but also helped him gather knowledge on understanding human life. Having successfully managed over 12 lakh workers under him he also strove to implement his philosophy of ‘Collective Materialism’, which propagates collective growth. Although now in jail and not heading his employees, Subrata has not stopped putting forward this philosophy and has completed a trilogy titled Thoughts from Tihar. The books in this trilogy are titled as Life Mantras, Think with Me, and Reflections from Tihar, all of which are philanthropic in nature and shed light on how to have a more fulfilling life full of happiness, contentment, and peace. Although not an autobiography, his book talks of his real-life experiences and involves you in their rawness. It may seem as one among many books but I’d like to hear the thoughts of a man who has gone through so much and still chooses to follow his philanthropic heart.

sahra news

Huge -Sahara News Network- News Room --we learn a lot from here मानो या न मानो मगर है सच -----हमारी कर्मभूमि 
इंडिया का सबसे बड़ा मीडिया परिवार और सबसे बड़ा न्यूज़ रूम
The most wonderful part of all our lives,job tasks, experiences were spent at this place. We treasure the Sahara News Room सबसे बड़ा और सुंदर न्यूज़ रूम , our reporters,editors, our senior trainer our canteen, print area , 15 Aug parade,26 jan and bharat parva and many more activities, the fun moments, the free time, the assignments and shoot trip and now a days some crises be there we have to tackle it very sincerely.
old employees keeps on coming frequently in happy hrs and recall/share those sweet memories and couple of days that they spent here & join and Stay in touch with old frenz who are still wating for good days.
very soon or in very near future we all are expecting good for Sahara TV / News Print and Parivar and & Sahara been marching forward on the path of success, adding new milestones on each coming days .
Our knowledge improved greatly every day .The great reporting & journalism Team we have & Technically IT Division/AV, very strong team too ..All are
filled with joy in hearts,in such a financial crises but we went to play again in this calm and beautiful environment.
सहारा प्रणाम

Wishing Hon'ble Saharasri Subrata Roy a very Happy Birthday.

Hon'ble Saharasri has inspired thousands of people to dream higher, so his birthday is marked as “Prerna Diwas” and celebrated by people who believe in his philosophy. Today, on this auspicious occasion we want to wish Subrata Roy a very Happy Birthday.

Subrata Roy is one among the top 10 most powerful businessman India can ever have. He is the founder and chairman of the famous Sahara India and has achieved more than fifteen awards for being the best Industrialist.

On 10th June, 1948, Subrata Roy was born in the district of Araria, Bihar. He was a very bright child, he also holds a diploma in Mechanical Engineering. Before he founded Sahara, he had already gathered 32 years of precious experience in business development along with 18 years of experience in real estate business. 

He opened his first office in Gorakhpur, which consisted of a table and two chairs along with a staff of one clerk and a runner boy. Initially he single headedly took up the business of Deposits and Para banking. But his life took a new turn in 1990s when he moved to Lucknow and set his business empire which is now over Rs.50, 000 crore. From there, it went on to become the largest conglomerate of India with a diversified range of business interests.

Apart from his business skills, he is also a humanitarian, he contributed to the relief efforts in flood hit Uttarakhand region by providing them the basic amenities along with free medical facility. He always believed in creating a family rather than a company. Which he did successfully, in a span of just 29 years, Sahara India has seen enormous growth as Roy was the driving force behind this success.

BAIL CASH ‘ARRANGED’, SUBRATA ROY READY FOR FAREWELL TIHAR

Buzz in Delhi says the Sahara boss, who is organising a series of entertainment shows for the prison staff and inmates, could be a free man before the summer holidays.

They are calling it Farewell Tihar. Encouraged by reports that the Rs 10,000 crore needed for bail has been finally organized, Sahara boss Subrata Roy is getting ready to leave Delhi's maximum-security prison. The capital is abuzz with news that the cash has finally been organized by the Lucknow-based conglomerate and that Roy could end his 14-month hiatus - a record for a corporate captain of his stature - around the time the courts close for summer holidays. 

Roy was imprisoned after he failed to appear for multiple court hearings in his firm's legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The funds raised are to help repay lakhs of small-town investors who trusted Sahara's "chit funds" with their savings. Roy must pay Rs 5,000 crore in cash and Rs 5,000 crore in bank guarantees to the Supreme Court. His company has paid Rs 3,117 crore to date. 

"We have been trying hard to raise funds to secure his release," said a Sahara India spokesperson. "We are pledging whatever we can at this point in time to ensure his exit from Tihar. We are confident we will be able to raise the money to secure his release before the summer holidays." 

It is reliably learnt that to secure Roy's release, Sahara is pledging whatever real estate the group has. 

Highly placed sources in Tihar claim the 14-month incarceration has left Roy - who called himself managing worker, once wore cash on his shirt and fancied parties with floral rains from a helicopter - a transformed man. On March 4, Roy, 67, marked a star sign on his prison wall to indicate a year in jail. 

The Sahara chief, who has kept himself fit by playing badminton regularly, has been keeping track of his business, indicating to his staffers that once out his immediate focus would be on media outlets like its television channels and newspaper. Late last month, he called a meeting of regional media heads and asked why their channels were not among the top three news channels. Cash and staff morale were problems, he was told. It is reliably learnt that Roy has given 25 days to his managers to come back to him with a game plan for the channels. 

Roy has continued his motivation letters from the prison to his employees, two of whom have already committed suicide. "I am coming out soon, have faith in me, the company. Work hard, please do not get worried about salary delays," he wrote. "I do not have a magic wand in my hand. We are going through a crisis... But we will grow, faster than before." 

Meanwhile, Roy has other plans - among them a grandiose farewell to the jail staff and prisoners in the form of a series of entertainment shows. The first one was held last year when singers Sapna Mukherjee (of Tridev fame) and Sonu Nigam performed for three hours before a packed audience. Bollywood star Salman Khan, who has tried unsuccessfully to meet Roy, has also agreed to perform at Tihar. And last month, the jail authorities - encouraged by Roy - have started a Sunday morning series involving top classical musicians. Two weeks ago, Grammy nominee flutist Ronu Mazumdar performed in Tihar. "Many lined up for classes with me," the musician said. 

Next on the list is a sitar-cello duet by Subhendra Rao and Saskiya Rao. "We want to bring positivity in the lives of the inmates," said Alok Kumar Verma, director general (prison). 

Dipayan Mazumdar, head of Legends of India, the Delhi-based cultural group organizing the shows with Tihar, is optimistic of roping in Roy - even after he leaves the prison - to continue the shows throughout the year. "It will be a big help," said Mazumdar. 

Roy has also been meeting prisoners during the daily "free time". He has advised many to start their own business because of India's troubled job market, recounting days when he drove a Lambretta scooter across Lucknow to promote his company. The book he wishes to write is almost ready, Roy has been writing for one or two hours every day. He wants to write on prison reforms and, of course, on those who "forgot him", including friends from the corporate world and Bollywood stars. 

"You know who are your friends when you are in bad times," Roy wrote in his last motivational letter to employees. In the jail he has, however, remained silent when asked about his "betrayers".

Statement from Sahara Counsels Ayush Chaudhary & Abhinav Mani Tripathi

We are thankful to the Hon’ble Court for giving us permission to raise funds via mortgage and sale of certain properties. Looking at the magnitude of the transactions involved, the Hon’ble Court has allowed us 90 days time to work from the conference room within Tihar Jail court premises, extending the facilities of video conferencing and meeting with various parties.

Apart from the mortgage of the three foreign properties, court has also allowed sale of ten domestic properties and a land parcel of Aamby Valley City. We are in a very advanced stage with many parties and shall execute these deals at the earliest. We have already deposited nearly Rs. 4,000/- crores in the ‘Sahara-SEBI Account’ and we shall be very shortly depositing the remaining amount along with the Bank Guarantee.

Sahara Counsel

Ayush Chaudhary & Abhinav Mani Tripathi