SC extends Sahara chief’s bail till Oct 24

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 28

The Supreme Court today extended Sahara chief Subrata Roy’s bail till October 24 and directed him to pay Rs 200 crore by then to avoid going to jail again.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur also asked Roy to explain the reasons for handing over 40 title deeds to stock market regulator SEBI for auction despite the fact that those properties had already been attached by the Income Tax Department.

The Bench, which included Justices AR Dave and AK Sikri, directed Sahara and SEBI to sit together and work out the remaining liability of the group and inform it on October 24, the next date of hearing. The Bench issued the directive as Sahara counsel Kapil Sibal said the group had already paid about Rs 17,000 crore, while SEBI pleaded it had received only Rs 12,000 crore.

The apex court is hearing SEBI’s contempt petition against Sahara for its failure to return about Rs 24,000 crore collected in the form of debentures, which were declared illegal by the regulator. The SC has upheld SEBI’s ruling.

Arguing for Sahara and Roy, senior counsel Kapil Sibal said his clients would come up with a clear roadmap for clearing the dues and give an undertaking for sticking to the commitment.

The Bench, however, said it had lost faith in the group as it had failed to honour many of its undertakings to the court earlier. It said it would accept any such assurance only with the consent of SEBI and amicus curiae Shekhar Naphade.

On September 23, the SC cancelled the parole granted to Roy, but hours later agreed to reconsider its order. It had then asked Roy to surrender by September 30, while his plea for recall of order cancelling the parole would be heard on September 28.