Sahara on Friday offered to repay investors over a 16-month period. The group submitted that it was ready to make a cash payment of Rs 2,500 crore within three days and gave an assurance that it will pay the rest of Rs 14,900 crore in five installments by the end of July, 2015 as security for the redemption of OFCDs.
To enable Saharas to generate the necessary funds to make the first and following of the aforesaid payments, the group said that Saharas and other Sahara group companies be forthwith permitted to operate the bank accounts/ deposits. But, SEBI opposed Sahara proposal on the ground that group is supposed to pay Rs 34,000 crore and not just Rs 17,400 crore which it on Friday agreed to pay.
Saharas have already deposited a sum of Rs 5120 crores with SEBI on 05.12. 2012. A sum of Rs 480.41 crores has been received as interest on this amount, which is also credited to the SEBI’s account
Senior advocate CA Sundaram, who was accompanied by other senior lawyers, tried to convince the court that it is not possible at this stage to raise more money as the main person, Roy, is behind bars and his people have no access to him in judicial custody.
“The one person who can find money is not in a position to do it. He is the only one who can arrange money. He can work out if he is allowed to get out. We are also not allowed to access him,” he pleaded. At this, the bench said that it can make arrangements to allow Roy’s financial consultants and lawyers to meet him in custody but made it clear that there is no way of getting away from paying the amount. “For the last one and half years he (Roy) has been out and he has been behind only for the last few days,” the bench said adding “We can arrange meetings but you must pay the amount”.
The bench then ordered that financial consultants and lawyers of Roy will be allowed to meet him between 10 and 12 AM every day. The matter was initially mentioned before a bench of Justices Radhakrishnan and Vikramajit Sen in the morning but it refused to look ito the proposal on the ground that SEBI was not given a copy of the proposal.
It directed the group to furnish the copy of the proposal to counsel of the market regulator and said that it would hear the matter at 11:30 am. The lawyers again assembled at 11:30 AM and Justice Radhakrishnan then went through the proposal and agreed for assembling of the special bench to consider the proposal. Justice Radhakrishnan said “the first instalment looks attractive”. At 1:30 PM the special bench of justices Radhakrishnan and Khehar assembled but rejected the proposal after SEBI’s counsel Pratap Venugopal strongly opposed the offer made by Sahara on the ground that the group was bound to pay Rs 34,000 crore and the proposal was only for Rs ,17,400 crore.
He also pleaded that Sahara be not given a long time of 17 months to deposit the money.