In a major setback to the Sahara Group, the Supreme Court on Friday directed two of its companies to refund around Rs 17,400 crore to their investors within three months with 15 per cent interest.

A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar directed SEBI to take action against the companies, Sahara India Real Estate Corporation and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation, if they fail to refund the money.

The apex court allowed the regulatory body to attach properties and freeze bank accounts of the two companies if they did not comply with its order.

The bench further directed SEBI to conduct investigation against the companies to find out their actual subscriber base besides getting other relevant information.

It directed the companies to furnish all their documents and account details before the regulatory body and appointed a former apex court judge B N Aggarwal to oversee the probe by SEBI against the two Sahara firms. .