Sahara chief Subrata Roy. (File photo)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Sahara chief Subrata Roy to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in SEBI-Sahara account by September 7 to establish his bona fide, news agency PTI reported. The Sahara chief, who has spent almost two years in jail and is out on parole since May 6 last year, was arrested for Sahara group’s failure to return the money of investors.
The Supreme Court had, earlier this month, asked Roy to pay Rs 552 crore to the Securities and Exchange Board of India by July 15 or face consequences. The apex court had shot down senior counsel Kapil Sibal’s plea for more time for his client to pay his dues, saying: “We are absolutely disinclined to request for extending time. Sebi is directed to produced the cheque in the relevant account. If dishonoured, the contemnor shall face the consequences.” The cheque is dated July 15.
The court had further noted that it had given Roy enough opportunities in the past to pay up but he was only paying in fractions. The bench suggested that he sell his prestigious Aamby Valley property and make good the amount. “The principal amount he has to pay is Rs 9,000 crore. At this rate of Rs 400-500 crore, it will take a lifetime. Sell Aamby Valley. Finish it,” said Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
Roy was granted parole for the the first time, on May 6 last year, to attend the funeral of his mother. It has been extended a number of times since.
Besides Roy, two other directors — Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary — were arrested for failure of the group’s two companies — Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) – to comply with the court’s August 31, 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors. Director Vandana Bhargava was not taken into custody.
