Roy, 2 directors to be lodged in Tihar Prisons
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Sahara group Chairman Subrata Roy and two other Directors to be kept in judicial custody at Tihar Jail till March 11 as they failed to provide any constructive proposal for refunding money to investors under a debenture scheme.
Sahara is supposed to submit a repayment proposal by the next date of hearing on March 11. The Supreme Court took exception to the dilatory tactics employed by the Sahara chief while not complying with its August 31, 2012 order directing refund to investors.
“Sufficient opportunities have been given to the contemnors to fully comply with those orders and purge the contempt committed by them. But rather than availing of the same, they have adopted various dilatory tactics to delay the implementation of the orders of this court,” said a bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar.
Roy, who was present in court along with two of his Directors Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar Dubey, presented a proposal by which SEBI could go ahead with the sale of Sahara properties attached with the market regulator. Since the amount in question involved over Rs 20,000 crore, Roy assured to offer a bank guarantee against the entire amount. Sahara claimed that Rs 5,120-crore had already been paid to SEBI. However, he placed a precondition asking SEBI to first verify the 127 truckloads of documents of crores of investors in order to identify fictitious investors.
Roy was taken into custody by Delhi Police along with two other Directors facing contempt and taken straight to the civil jail in Tihar Prisons. Another Director Vandana Bhargava, also facing contempt, was spared the agony of incarceration being a woman. She was asked to coordinate with the detained Sahara bosses in order to provide an acceptable solution. The SC permitted Sahara lawyers to mention the matter as and when such a proposal was reached.
The proceeding that began at 2 pm was in a jam-packed courtroom with lawyers, family members and Sahara officials present in full strength. The SC first ascertained the presence of the four contemnors and then asked Roy whether he had paid the outstanding amount.
Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani appearing along with a battery of senior lawyers for Sahara, informed the SC that once SEBI would identify the fictitious investors, within one month the money would be paid. Senior advocate CA Sundaram informed the SC that properties valued at Rs 28,000-crore were on offer.
“This you have been saying for past one-and-a-half years. This proposal has lots of ifs and buts. You sell the properties and bring the money. We will keep our hands off,” the bench said.
SEBI’s counsel Arvind Datar pointed out that the sole aim of Sahara was to keep them occupied with the verification process, a job they had already finished. “Except for repayment, Sahara has no option,” Datar argued.
Roy spoke on many occasions during the hearing and urged the SC to accept his proposal and view the matter from a business point of view. His proposal to refund by cash was also snubbed by the court which demanded a cheque or DD as the only mode for repayment. The court felt that in the interest of market integrity and to maintain investor confidence, such an order became essential.
Earlier, Manoj Sharma, a 30-year-old man from Gwalior threw ink on the face of Roy when he was brought to the SC amidst chaotic scenes. Calling himself an investor, Sharma waited for Roy, who was wearing his trademark waistcoat and tie, to get out of the car that formed part of the police convoy that had brought him to court from nearby Noida, before throwing the black ink.The man was beaten up by some lawyers there and taken by the police to Tilak Marg Police Station.