Sahara chief Roy seeks 10 more days from SC to sell properties

Says deals to sell 3 luxury hotels in New York and London have hit a roadblock

New Delhi, Sept 5: Jailed Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy on Friday sought a further 10-day extension for stay in the makeshift prison office inside the Tihar Jail court complex for negotiating the sale of his assets to raise R10,000 crore to secure bail.

The Supreme Court is likely to hear the fresh plea early next week.

Sahara senior counsel S Ganesh told a bench, headed by Justice TS Thakur, that the Sahara chief needed 10 more days as the negotiations are at a crucial stage and likely to fetch around R1,800 crore.

Roy is holding “very effective” negotiations with buyers and the group has signed a preliminary accord for three hotels, Ganesh said, adding that “still a lot remains to be done for a considerable amount of money”.

The counsel said that due to unforseen circumstances the deal may get delayed further. The Supreme Court had on August 14 granted Roy and the other two directors 15 more days, excluding weekends and public holidays, to finalise the deals, subject to a condition that no further extensions will be given.

Media reports have said that a US gay rights group has protested against a possible purchase of New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel by the Sultan of Brunei, who is set to implement tough punishments for same-sex acts.

Reports indicated that the sul- tan, via an inter mediary, has offered some $2 billion ($A2.1 billion) to snap up the famous hotel at the foot of Central Park, as well as the Dream Downtown in Chelsea and Grosvenor House in London.

Roy was on August 1 allowed to stay in a makeshift office in Tihar prison and use the conference room within the jail complex for 10 days to enable him to hold negotiations with potential buyers to sell three luxury hotels — Dream Downtown and The Plaza in New York and Grosvenor House in London — to raise the money, half in cash and half through bank guarantee.

Celebrities, including British tycoon Richard Branson and US Vogue editor Anna Wintour, have called for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by the sultan, including the Dorchester in London and Le Meurice in Paris. Other celebrities, including Russell Crowe and Kim Kardashian, have urged celebrities to abandon the boycott on the Dorchester.