Over 1.8 million applications missing from the Sahara India refund portal—has your name been removed too?

The money of lakhs of investors has been stuck with Sahara India for years. People are hopeful of recovering these funds following the relaunch of the refund portal. However, the applications of many investors have gone missing in the meantime.

Was your money also stuck with Sahara India for years? Did the portal’s relaunch give you hope that you would soon get your money back? But have you checked the status of your application? If not, you should definitely check it, as an RTI activist has recently claimed that approximately 1.8 million (18 lakh) applications are missing from the Sahara refund portal.

This revelation came to light after RTI activist Naushad Ali sought information from the Office of the Central Registrar twice under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. You should verify whether you are among those 1.8 million people.

What was revealed in the RTI?

RTI activist Naushad Ali, a resident of Baraut (Baghpat), filed his first RTI application on October 24, 2025, and the second on July 28, 2026. The Office of the Central Registrar responded to both, but the information provided did not match. In the response to the first RTI, he was informed that a total of 16,796,469 depositors had registered by November 10, 2025. Of these, 14,045,099 had submitted their documents.

However, only 3,435,874 valid applicants received a total refund of ₹6,621.85 crore directly into their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts by November 17, 2025. The total amount claimed was reported as ₹95,732.50 crore.

What was revealed in the second RTI? Meanwhile, a subsequent response dated September 3, 2026—following an earlier one from July 28, 2026—revealed that 14,948,879 depositors had registered so far. Of these, 4,156,693 applications were verified, and a total of ₹9,267.89 crore was disbursed; this is the amount that had been distributed by September 4, 2026.

1.8 Million Applications Missing

When Naushad compared and verified the two responses, a discrepancy emerged: the initial response cited a total of 16,796,469 registrations, whereas the subsequent response showed a lower figure of 14,948,879. This implies that 1,867,590 depositors have effectively gone missing from the records.

Where Did the Applications Go?

These figures raise several questions—specifically, whether the registrations of these 1.8 million individuals were cancelled or if the data provided was incorrect. Regardless of the actual situation, the ultimate loss falls upon the applicants whose applications can no longer be found. If you have also initiated the refund process, it is advisable to visit the website and check the status of your application.