The Supreme Court of India has approved a fresh disbursement of ₹5,000 crore to Sahara Group depositors, extending the deadline for repayments to December 31, 2026. This decision follows a similar directive in 2023, aiming to return funds to investors in Sahara's cooperative societies.

Background

In March 2023, the Supreme Court initially approved the release of ₹5,000 crore from the Sahara-SEBI refund account to clear the dues of depositors who had invested in four Sahara Group credit cooperative societies. The total amount deposited by the Sahara Group with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was ₹24,979.67 crore, stemming from funds raised through bonds. The court ordered this amount to be transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, who would then disburse it to legitimate depositors in a transparent manner.

The Ministry of Cooperation filed an interlocutory application, leading to the March 2023 order, to reimburse approximately 10 crore investors belonging to four cooperative societies of the Sahara Group. These societies, registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, between March 2010 and January 2014, had faced numerous complaints regarding non-payment to depositors.

Latest Developments

On September 12, 2025, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi approved the disbursement of another ₹5,000 crore from Sahara Group's SEBI deposits. The court also extended the deadline for the government to distribute the amounts released in both the March 2023 order and the latest directive until December 31, 2026. The initial deadline was set for December 31, 2025.

The transfer of funds is to be completed within a week and will be supervised by former Supreme Court Justice R. Subhash Reddy, following the modalities outlined in the March 2023 order. This order was passed after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested an extension of time for releasing payments to investors.

Implementation and Process

The disbursement process involves the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, who is responsible for disbursing the funds against the legitimate dues of genuine depositors. Payments are to be deposited directly into the bank accounts of depositors after proper identification and verification of their claims.

To facilitate the claims process, the "CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal" was launched on July 18, 2023. As of July 23, 2025, ₹5,139.23 crore has been disbursed to 27,33,520 depositors out of 1,35,34,410 depositors of Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies. The portal allows eligible depositors from Sahara Credit Cooperative Society, Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society, and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society to file claims digitally. Depositors with matured and unpaid dues as of March 31, 2023, are eligible to apply and receive payments directly to their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. Currently, ₹50,000 is the maximum amount being disbursed to each genuine depositor against verified claims.

Sahara Group's Financial Troubles

The Sahara Group has been under scrutiny for several years due to its failure to fully comply with a 2012 Supreme Court order mandating the refund of funds collected from investors with 15% annual interest. Despite depositing over ₹25,000 crore with SEBI, the group has faced difficulties in meeting its liabilities. The Supreme Court has directed the Sahara Group to disclose details about its current executives, shareholders, and unencumbered properties to raise additional funds for investor refunds.