HYDERABAD: The Supreme Court has directed Telangana high court registrar general to identify officers who could execute sale deeds for properties attached in the Heera Gold case, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that accused Nowhera Shaik was not cooperating with the registration of auctioned assets.The agency told the court that completing the registrations was necessary to raise funds and distribute the proceeds among investors. The directions were issued during proceedings on Tuesday.ED alleges Nowhera Shaik threatening buyersThe apex court initially proposed that Heera Gold chief Nowhera Shaik be taken from jail to the office of the sub-registrar concerned, where she could complete the required formalities before being returned to prison.ED counsel Venkatesh, however, said Shaik was given opportunities to facilitate the registrations since 2024. He alleged that whenever she obtained access to documents, persons associated with her contacted people outside jail and threatened prospective buyers.“Once she gets the deeds, she starts contacting people (outside the jail) in her office and they start threatening prospective buyers. This has happened before,” the counsel submitted.The agency informed the court that 46 properties were involved and that registration would have to take place in the jurisdictions where the properties were located. Of these, 16 properties were in Telangana.Judicial officers may execute deedsFollowing the ED’s submissions, the Supreme Court sought a list of registrars from the high court registrar general. The court indicated that designated judicial officers could then be authorised to execute the relevant documents.The exercise is intended to enable the registration of auctioned properties and mobilisation of funds for distribution among investors. Shaik was arrested by ED after the agency alleged that she was evading court directions.According to the ED’s petition, Shaik allegedly orchestrated a ponzi scheme that collected money from over 1.72 lakh investors and caused an estimated loss of Rs 5,978 crore.The agency alleged that companies linked to her carried out no significant trading activity and used funds collected from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors. It further claimed that the remaining proceeds, estimated at Rs 3,265 crore, were diverted to personal accounts and used to acquire properties for Nowhera Shaik and her family members.
