SUPREME COURT TELLS SAHARA TO DEPOSIT ₹5,000 CR FOR ROY’S BAIL
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave time till April 13 to Sahara to sell their properties and raise ₹5,092.64 crore to deposit it with SEBI towards refund of investors’ money.
A special bench of three judges, headed by justice Dipak Misra, also sought on the next hearing — April 17 — the presence of Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) that has acquired 91.65 acres of land belonging to Sahara. GDA is expected to compensate the company to the tune of ₹1,112.70 crore.
The company’s plea to give it six months was turned down, with the court saying it could extend the time if Sahara deposited the amount before the deadline ends. The court extended Sahara boss Subrata Roy’s parole till the next hearing. Roy was released in May last year, two years after he was sent to Tihar jail for defying orders asking him to appear in the top court.
In accordance with the last order, Sahara’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, submitted a list of 15 unencumbered properties that could be sold to realise the money that Sahara is required to deposit with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to ensure Roy remains out of jail. A separate list of encumbered properties was also given.
Although the SEBI counsel submitted it was difficult to auction the properties as previous attempts could not get desired results, the court still gave Sahara a chance. But Sibal’s plea to let the court keep the properties as security and allow the company to arrange money in six months was not accepted.