Sahara chief offers to pay ₹300 crore as bank guarantee

Sahara chief Subrata Roy on Friday offered to pay ₹ 300 crore to market regulator Security and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), but said the amount should be adjusted as bank guarantee.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Sahara, informed a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur about the offer. On his request, the court agreed to hear the matter next week.

“I am ready to pay additional ₹300 crore, but this amount should be adjusted as a bank guarantee,” Sibal told the bench.

Roy is at present on parole till September 16 after the Supreme Court extended it on August 3. The Sahara boss came out of jail on May 6, almost two years after he was sent for defying court orders. He was given four-weeks parole to perform his mother’s last rites.

Released on humanitarian ground, Roy parole continued after he deposited ₹300.68 crore, giving him the opportunity to raise the remaining amount to secure bail in the case.

On August 3, the bench told him his parole will stand cancelled if ₹300 crore more was not deposited.

The Court has already allowed the Sahara group to go ahead with sale and alienation of its properties to raise an amount of ₹5,000 crore as a bank guarantee, which needs to be deposited with the Sebi for Roy’s permanent bail.

The Sahara chief has said by December end the company will be in a position to fulfill all bail conditions. He claimed talks were on with Canara Bank for ₹1,500 crore bank guarantee.