SC sets aside Delhi HC order staying probe into 9 Sahara group companies

The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Delhi High Court stay on a probe into 9 Sahara group companies.

The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Delhi High Court order staying the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe into nine companies related to the Sahara group. A vacation bench of justices D Y Chandrachud and Bela M Trivedi said the high court was not justified in staying the investigation in the matter.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the SFIO, said that the SFIO probe was investigating transactions amounting to Rs one lakh crore among the companies. The SFIO also took objection to the high court stay on the lookout notice it issued to ensure that members of the company do not leave the country.

The SFIO had filed an appeal in the top court against the December 13, 2021 order of the Delhi High Court staying all subsequent actions and proceedings, including coercive measures and lookout notices, against the Sahara group chief and others.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Sahara group, had argued that the Companies Act 2013 is not applicable to the 2011 transactions which the SFIO had sought to investigate.