Sahara told the court it was working on new deals to raise funds.

The Supreme Court has set conditions on the fund raising, however, and on Friday asked Sahara to obtain necessary approvals from the Indian central bank and other authorities to comply with foreign exchange rules.

Sahara, which already has a more than $900 million loan from Bank of China on the three hotels, including the Plaza in New York, had sought the court's permission to take over the loan and refinance it from another creditor and raise a fresh loan of $650 million.

The award of more than 200 coal blocks to steel, cement and power companies has been at the centre of the so-called "Coalgate" scandal.

The Federation of Indian Airlines had challenged the aviation regulator's decision this week to issue an operating permit to AirAsia India.