The Supreme Court of India has turned down Sahara Group's review petition seeking reconsideration of the August 31 judgment directing the group to refund Rs 24,000 crore to investors.

Two Sahara group companies, viz. Sahara India Real Estate Corp (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp (SHIC), had collected the money through Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCD) between 2008 and 2011 from over 2.96 crore violating obligatory regulatory norms.

In its August 31 judgment, the apex court directed the two companies to return the money along with interest to their investors.

The two companies requested the court to review its judgment, but a bench of judges K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar dismissed the review petition, saying none of the grounds raised in the petition justified reconsideration of the judgment.

The bench said, "We do not find any inconsistency in the views expressed by both of us. All the contentions, legally and factually, raised by them were examined, addressed and answered on all possible angles and dimensions."

The two Sahara group companies have already deposited Rs 5,120 crore with capital market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This means the two companies will now have to deposit the balance amount of around Rs 19,000 crore with the regulator.