6 months ago
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The Supreme Court has directed the quashing of each transgression proceedings against the fugitive Sandesara brothers successful the Sterling Biotech slope fraud case, provided they deposit ₹5100 crore arsenic a “full and last payment” to lender banks.
“If the petitioners (Sandesara brothers) are acceptable to deposit the magnitude arsenic settled successful the one-time colony (OTS), and nationalist wealth comes backmost to lender banks, the continuation of the transgression proceedings would not service immoderate utile purpose,” said a Bench headed by J.K. Maheshwari.
However, the apex tribunal clarified its directions for quashing the transgression proceedings were based connected the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, and “therefore, they shall not beryllium treated arsenic precedent”.
The tribunal made it wide that its bid quashing the transgression proceedings against the brothers would go operative lone connected the afloat and last outgo of ₹5,100 crore connected oregon earlier December 17, 2025.
The Bench directed the magnitude to beryllium deposited with the Supreme Court Registry. The magnitude would beryllium kept successful a short-term and interest-bearing fixed deposit relationship with a nationalised slope till disbursement among the lender banks connected a proportionate ground with notation to the magnitude owed to each of them.
The order, dated November 19 and published connected Monday, recorded that the magnitude of defalcation successful the FIR was ₹5,383 crore. The OTS with respect to the Indian companies of the petitioners with the banks was for ₹3,826 crore and for overseas companies being guarantor was for ₹2,935 crore, bringing the full sum to ₹6,761 crore.
“Out of the said amount, the petitioners person voluntarily deposited a fraction of the full magnitude nether assorted heads, including arsenic per orders of this court, which comes to astir ₹3,507.63 crore, leaving the remaining dues to ₹3,253.37 crore,” the tribunal bid observed.
The lender banks had initiated proceedings nether Insolvency Bankruptcy Code, 2016 earlier the National Company Law Tribunal and recoveries worthy ₹1,192 crore had been made.
However, retired of the full magnitude arsenic specified successful the OTS, the remaining unpaid magnitude came to ₹2,061.37 crore.
The turning constituent successful the lawsuit came erstwhile the Solicitor General, representing the authorities and the probe agencies, submitted a request for ₹5,100 crore successful a sealed screen and the brothers agreed to wage the magnitude to bargain their state from pending transgression cases.
