Subrata Roy pleads SC to pass early order on his petition

Subrata Roy is now literally feeling the heat. Lodged in Tihar Jail since March 4 for not abiding by the Supreme Court's repeated order to refund investors Rs 20,000 crore, the Sahara chairman pleaded the court on Wednesday to pass an early order on his petition challenging his detention saying he is finding the scorching heat unbearable.

Besides the bail plea, a Bench of Justices K. Radhakrishnan and J. S. Khehar had reserved the order on the plea challenging Roy's detention and his latest refund proposal on April 21.

"The temperature is soaring and the gentleman is not well," senior advocate Rajiv Dhavan, appearing for the Sahara Group, told the Bench. Dhawan made his submission at the end of court's proceedings in a contempt case against a person who had thrown ink on Roy when he was brought to the apex court on March 4. The court granted four weeks' time to the alleged contemnor, Manoj Sharma, to file his response in the case.

In its new proposal, Sahara had assured the court that it will pay Rs 3,000 crore within three- to- four working days and another Rs 2,000 crore in cash by May 30. The Group also submitted that it would furnish a bank guarantee of another Rs 5,000 crore on or before June 20. The court had imposed a condition that Roy will be freed on bail only if he pays Rs 10,000 crore, out of which Rs 5,000 crore has to be in bank guarantee and the rest in cash.

The court had on April 22 expressed willingness to defreeze Sahara's bank accounts and allow the Group to sell properties to raise the Rs 10,000- crore bail amount. The Bench, which had last year frozen all bank accounts of Sahara companies and restrained them from selling any properties without its approval, made the remarks as Dhavan had said that it is difficult to raise the money when Roy is in jail.

Courtesy: Mail Today