Sahara Group on Thursday, April 17, 2014 submitted a fresh proposal to the Supreme Court to secure the release of its Chief Subrata Roy and two directors, Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary from the Tihar Jail but the court declined to hear the matter as it was brought up late.
Even as a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar heard the petition questioning Subrata Roy’s detention, senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan submitted the proposal approved by the both the Sahara Group and Subrata Roy.
The group is willing to pay Rs. 2,500 crore within three working days, another Rs. 2,500 crore in sixty days and the remaining Rs. 5,000 crore, in cash or bank guarantee, within ninety days thereafter.
Senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan urged the court to consider releasing Subrata Roy and two others on furlough for three days so that the Sahara Group along with their Chief Subrata Roy could arrange for the money. But the judges, declining the request and categorically said that the proposal was presented when they were about to rise and they would take it up on Monday, April 21, 2014.
On Wednesday, the judges had told the Sahara counsel if Subrata Roy and two Sahara Group directors were to be released from prison, the accounts of the group companies had to be stated, to enable payment. To this Sahara counsel Ram Jethmalani said custody of the officials wasn’t justified.
S. Ganesh, another Sahara Group counsel, said the company had collected funds from investors in remote parts of the country, where bank facilities weren’t available; they were redeemed in cash.
The counsel added such transactions weren’t against law and cheque or draft payments should not be insisted upon. Sahara Group counsel had earlier stated that it was unconstitutional to send a man behind bars for not paying the money and also questioned the order putting a condition of paying Rs 10,000 crore for getting interim bail.
SEBI, however, had opposed the stand taken by Subrata Roy ‘s counsel, saying that his petition was not maintainable.
