Sandesara Group of Companies, headquartered in Vadodara, has received significant relief in a long-standing dispute. The company, which was facing a financial crunch, was accused of defaulting on loans from several Indian banks.
Industrialists Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara’s Sterling Group companies have been facing litigation for a long time owing to financial difficulties. Their business interests range from pharmaceuticals.
They reportedly left India in 2017, obtaining Albanian passports, and have since denied any wrongdoing.
Indian authorities have marked them among 14 fugitive economic offenders under a 2018 law that allows seizure of assets of those accused of major financial crimes.
The order is perceived as a potential turning point in how large financial disputes are resolved in India.
According to newspaper reports, the Supreme Court has said that if a total of Rs 5,100 crore, including the amount due as lien from the Sandesara group companies, is paid, the company will receive a clean chit in all cases against it.
This includes those filed by the ED, CBI, and Income Tax authorities.
Lien is an amount held by a bank against a customer’s account as security.
The Supreme Court has set a deadline of December 17, 2025, for the payment of this amount.
In the FIR registered against the companies, the lien amount was reported as Rs 5,383 crore.
However, according to a settlement agreement, it was fixed at Rs 6,761 crore.
So far, Rs 3,507.63 crore has been deposited, and Rs 1,192 crore has been recovered through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)
As if now, Rs 2,061 crore is due.
The company must clear the complete amount by December 17, 2025. Once this payment is made, all cases filed by agencies, including the CBI, ED, and Income Tax, will be cancelled.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi and other legal experts represented the applicant company, while the team including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju represented the government.
Following discussions with the banks on the figures submitted by the government, the settlement plan was approved. The applicant party agreed to quash all criminal and financial proceedings by accepting full and final payment.
Also Read: Pay Rs343 Cr To Banks in 2 Months – DRT Orders Sandesara Brothers https://www.vibesofindia.com/pay-rs343-cr-to-banks-in-2-months-drt-orders-sandesara-brothers/
