The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on various aspects relating to release of Sahara chief Subrato Roy from jail saying it would decide how more money has to be paid and as to when SEBI may encash the bank guarantee in future.
A three-judge Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur, while reserving the order, asked the counsel of Sahara chief to furnish the “scheme” within two weeks giving details as to how the group proposes to proceed with the sale of its assets and payment to the SEBI. The apex court on August 31, 2012 had said the group was required to refund Rs24,000 crore with 15 per cent interest in three months to the depositors.
It had on March 26, 2014 asked 65-year-old Roy, who has been in Tihar Jail since March 4, 2014, to pay Rs10,000 crore to get bail, out of which Rs5,000 crore should be paid in cash and rest in bank guarantees.
During the hearing on Thursday, a battery of senior lawyers led by Kapil Sibal sought release of Roy from jail saying that he will by submitting a scheme on repayment in July and he can be sent back he defaults.
"As a goodwill gesture, please release him. Please give six weeks time to him and he be sent back to jail if he does not do the needful," Sibal said, adding "keeping him in jail does not serve any body’s purpose".
"Please do not feel that we are insensitive... And for last 16 months, we had been asking your client about the payment of money," the bench, also comprising justices AR Dave and AK Sikri, said.
The counsel for Sahara also sought an order from the court that it be allowed to sell 72 properties attached by the SEBI.
"Tell us which property you (Sahara) want to sell," the bench, which also sought to know the views of SEBI on the issue, said.