**Executive Summary**
This document pertains to a government response regarding the Sahara Refund Portal, specifically addressing questions about refunds to depositors, payments pending, and plans for future disbursements. The response references a Supreme Court order from March 29, 2023, and the launch of the online portal on July 18, 2023. The document also references an extension for the disbursement of refunds until December 31, 2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Supreme Court Order and Fund Transfer:**
* ₹5,000 crore was transferred from the “Sahara-SEBI Refund Account” to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for disbursal.
* Disbursement is supervised by Justice R. Subhash Reddy and assisted by Shri Gaurav Agarwal.
* **Sahara Refund Portal:**
* The CRCS-Sahara refund portal (https://mocrefund.crcs.gov.in) was launched on July 18, 2023, for claim submissions.
* The portal is for depositors of Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. (Lucknow), Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd. (Bhopal), Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. (Kolkata) and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. (Hyderabad).
* The disbursement process is entirely digital and paperless.
* **Application Processing and Payment:**
* Applications are processed transparently based on proper identification and proof of deposits.
* Payments are deposited directly into the depositor’s Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts.
* Currently, payments are limited to ₹50,000 per genuine depositor against verified claims.
* Deficiencies in applications are communicated for re-submission via a portal launched on November 15, 2023.
* **Additional Funds and Refund Progress:**
* The Supreme Court has ordered transfer of an additional ₹5,000 crore for refunds.
* Disbursement has been extended to December 31, 2026.
* As of January 20, 2026, ₹8,429.42 crore has been disbursed to 39,46,550 depositors.
* **Data Availability:**
* State-wise refund details are attached as an annexure.
* District-wise and Lok Sabha Constituency-wise details are not maintained on the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal.
**Impact Analysis**
**Depositors of Sahara Group Cooperative Societies**
* **Impact:** Affected by the refund process and the ₹50,000 payment limit, potential resubmission.
* **Action Required:** Submit claims via the CRCS-Sahara refund portal with proper identification and deposit proof. If deficiencies are reported, resubmit the application.
**Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies**
* **Impact:** Responsible for disbursing the funds and overseeing the refund process.
* **Action Required:** Disburse ₹5,000 crore to eligible depositors of the Sahara Group Cooperative Societies. Follow the guidelines for identification and verification of claims.
**Justice R. Subhash Reddy and Shri Gaurav Agarwal**
* **Impact:** Responsible for supervising and monitoring the disbursement process.
* **Action Required:** Oversee the disbursement of funds to ensure it is done transparently and to genuine depositors.
**Ministry of Cooperation**
* **Impact:** Responsible for the initiative.
* **Action Required:** Monitor the refund process and ensure compliance with the Supreme Court order and relevant regulations.
Key Entities Referenced
Sahara Refund Portal: Online portal for processing refunds to depositors of Sahara Group's Cooperative Societies.
Ministry of Cooperation: The Indian government ministry responsible for cooperative societies, playing a central role in the Sahara refund process.
CRCS-Sahara refund portal: The specific online portal (https://mocrefund.crcs.gov.in) launched for submission of claims by depositors.
Supreme Court: The Hon'ble Supreme Court's orders are central to the establishment and operation of the refund process.
Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies: The group of cooperative societies whose depositors are eligible for refunds through the portal.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COOPERATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 616
TO BE ANSWERED ON 03rd February, 2026
Sahara Refund Portal
†616. Shri Rajkumar Roat:
Will the Minister of COOPERATION (सहकारिता मंत्री) be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the societies from which the money has been refunded to depositors through
Sahara Refund Portal so far in the country, State and district-wise especially in the State of
Rajasthan;
(b) whether it is a fact that through the Sahara Refund Portal, 3,500 depositors of Banswara-
Dungarpur, Lok Sabha Constituencies received Rs. 4 lakh from one of the society;
(c) whether payment to thousands of other depositors through other societies is still pending, if so,
the total number of depositors and the quantum of the payment yet to be made to them;
(d) the details of the depositor's names and amount lying pending for payment;
(e) whether the Government proposes to make payments to the remaining depositors of Banswara-
Dungarpur, Lok Sabha Constituencies through the Sahara Refund Portal; and
(f) if so, the details thereof along with the time by when it is likely to be made, if not, the reasons
therefor?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION
(सहकारिता मंत्री) (SHRI AMIT SHAH)
(a) to (f): In an Interlocutory Application filed by the Ministry of Cooperation in WP (C)
No.191/2022 (Pinak Pani Mohanty vs UoI & ors.), the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 29.03.2023 inter
alia ordered that:
“(i) Out of the total amount of Rs. 24,979.67 Crores lying in the “Sahara-SEBI Refund
Account”, Rs. 5000 Crores be transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies,
who, in turn, shall disburse the same against the legitimate dues of the depositors of the
Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies, which shall be paid to the genuine depositors in the
most transparent manner and on proper identification and on submitting proof of their
deposits and proof of their claims and to be deposited in their respective bank accounts
directly.(ii) The disbursement shall be supervised and monitored by Justice R. Subhash Reddy,
Former Judge of this Court with the able assistance of Shri Gaurav Agarwal, learned
Advocate, who is appointed as Amicus Curiae to assist Justice R. Subhash Reddy as well as
the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies in disbursing the amount to the genuine
depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies. The manner and modalities for
making the payment is to be worked out by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies in
consultation with Justice R. Subhash Reddy, Former Judge of this Court and Shri Gaurav
Agarwal, learned Advocate.”
In compliance of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Order dated 29.03.2023, an Online Portal
“CRCS-Sahara refund portal” https://mocrefund.crcs.gov.in has been launched on 18.07.2023 for
submission of claims by the genuine depositors of four Multi-State Cooperative Societies of Sahara
Group, namely; Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd., Lucknow, Saharayn Universal
Multipurpose Society Ltd., Bhopal, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd., Kolkata and
Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd., Hyderabad for refund of their legitimate deposits.
Entire process of disbursement is digital and paperless and is being carried out under the
supervision and monitoring of Justice R. Subhash Reddy, Former Judge of Hon’ble Supreme Court
with the assistance of Shri Gaurav Agrawal, Amicus Curiae.
Applications received on the Portal are being processed in transparent manner, on proper
identification and on submitting proof of their identity and deposits. The payment is being
deposited directly in Aadhaar seeded bank account of the genuine depositors. Presently, payment
only upto Rs.50,000/- is being disbursed to each genuine depositor of the Sahara Group of
Cooperative Societies against verified claims through Aadhaar seeded Bank account.
Further, in case of any deficiency found in the application of the depositor on the portal,
deficiencies are being conveyed to them for re-submission of their application through the re-
submission portal already launched on 15.11.2023.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has ordered that additional amount of Rs. 5,000 Crore be
transferred from ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account’ to Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies and
granted extension for disbursement of refund to the depositors upto 31.12.2026. An amount of Rs.
8,429.42 Crore has been disbursed to 39,46,550 depositors of Sahara Group of Cooperative
Societies as on 20.01.2026. State-wise details of refund of deposits including State of Rajasthan
is attached as Annexure. As per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), District-wise, Lok Sabha
Constituency-wise details of the depositors is not maintained on the “CRCS-Sahara Refund
Portal”.
******Annexure
State Wise Application Received and Refund made through CRCS Sahara Refund Portal (As on 20.01.2026)
S. No State/UT's Applications Aggregate Claim Amount Applications Amount Disbursed
Received (Rs. In Cr.) Processed (Rs. In Cr.)
1 Andhra Pradesh 384038 2582 81491 197.75
2 Arunachal Pradesh 259 3.03 49 0.12
3 Assam 487025 2762 103367 200.30
4 Bihar 2800657 18062 968713 1892.89
5 Chhattisgarh 432384 71969 176.63
2991
6 Goa 10248 117.08 3883 8.70
7 Gujarat 563436 3881 55774 136.63
8 Haryana 200641 1734 65466 177.23
9 Himachal Pradesh 25137 237.98 11592 28.90
10 Jharkhand 1395418 9832 373588 847.67
11 Karnataka 37189 359.39 11862 25.66
12 Kerala 70 1.05 15 0.05
13 Madhya Pradesh 906661 6689 155049 355.04
14 Maharashtra 128061 1214.23 34467 82.49
15 Manipur 870 7.41 410 0.84
16 Meghalaya 90 0.47 15 0.03
17 Mizoram 58 3.35 14 0.03
18 Nagaland 346 3.45 87 0.19
19 Odisha 1144561 7204 340204 707.56
20 Punjab 41016 369.74 16551 42.92
21 Rajasthan 1213140 9336.48 246118 604.44
22 Sikkim 1125 34.60 199 0.54
23 Tamil Nadu 1707 20.85 342 0.95
24 Telangana 79709 742.91 33493 94.64
25 Tripura 29999 205.28 14428 27.86
26 Uttar Pradesh 3566550 23081 1079800 2228.27
27 Uttarakhand 61060 455.56 29459 74.30
28 West Bengal 739677 4246 203185 397.04
1 Andaman and Nicob 218 1.79 43 0.09
2 Chandigarh (UT) 5048 63.64 1912 5.18
Dadra and Nagar
Haveli and Daman
3 and (UT) 1333 21.53 73 0.17
4 Delhi 117399 1146.56 42896 114.25
5 Jammu and Kashmir 80 0.92 19 0.04
6 Puducherry (UT) 101 0.88 17 0.02
7 Lakshadweep (UT) 2 0.01 0 0.00
8 Ladakh (UT) 0 0.00 0 0
Grand Total 1,43,75,313 97,412.19 39,46,550 8,429.42