Upset over the slow pace at which Sahara is working to win freedom for its jailed founder Subrata Roy, the apex court on Monday mulled the option of appointing a Receiver to recover money from sale of Sahara properties.
It asked SEBI to whom the money was due to move a fresh application for appointing a Receiver. “let the Receiver manage the property and give report to the court,” said a Bench of Justices TS Thakur, AR Dave and AK Sikri.
Although Sahara was not agreeable to this proposal, the Bench said, “One thing that troubles us is that here is a person who is worth Rs1,85,000 crore and he owns so much property yet cannot pay.” Wondering if the money Sahara got was unaccounted money or somebody else’s wealth, the Bench added, “You are in jail by choice. A person so blessed with money and he is sacrificing his liberty over money.”
Roy needs Rs5,000 crore in cash and Rs5,000 crore bank guarantee to be released from prison. The court while monitoring its order for release of Sahara chief said that going by the pace at which properties were sold, Sahara seemed “incapable” of generating the requisite amount for release.
Sibal argued that the order of the court to repay the outstanding amount of Rs26,000 crore was coming in the way of obtaining loans. While properties were up on sale, there were certain roadblocks. He cited how a buyer for its Chauma property had gone back on the deal to deposit Rs700 crore while the Vasai property bidder sought extension of three months for paying Rs850 crore. As regards Gorakhpur property, the bench finalised the deal by awarding the land to a Gorakhpur-based real estate developer for a sum of Rs152 crore. This amount is to be deposited with SEBI before November 30 this year.