SC reserves order on Roy's release

Roy and other two directors of the group are in judicial custody since March 4 for not abiding by the apex court's order for depositing Rs 20,000 crore of investors money with Sebi

The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on Sahara chief Subrata Roy’s plea for release from jail after a marathon hearing lasting for weeks.  Even at the last moment, Roy came up with a new proposal to secure his release from Tihar jail where he has been kept under judicial custody since March 4.

The response of the apex court to the latest proposal and Roy’s petition challenging his detention will come any day, chosen by the judges. They did not set any date for the order. The new formula for payment of Rs 10,000 crore demanded by the apex court for Roy’s release consists of Rs 3,000 crore in three days, Rs 2,000 crore by May 30 and bank guarantees for Rs 5,000 crore by June 20.

Roy had made several proposals of the same nature earlier but the bench comprising judges K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar were not satisfied with them, leaving Roy along with two directors of the Sahara group in custody.

“This is as far as we can go,” Roy’s counsel S Ganesh told the judges on Monday. He said Roy was willing to undertake to pay fully knowing the consequences if the order is not complied with.

The counsel pleaded for his release so he could arrange the money. He also requested the court to de-freeze bank accounts so that the money could be raised.

The judges only heard these silently without giving out any clue to their thinking.Another counsel, Rajiv Dhavan, submitted that the group has not done any business since October 2013 because of the legal imbroglio and the top management has not been paid. Only up to the middle level have salaries been paid. Therefore, Roy be released, he pleaded.However, Arvind Datar, the counsel for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said that the Sahara group's arguments have neither been consistent, nor credible nor corroborated by other materials. He doubted whether huge amounts like Rs 25,000 crore could be dealt in cash as claimed by Sahara lawyers. The sale of properties in different parts of the country has not reflected in the audited accounts of the group. Regarding Roy's plea for permission to go abroad, Datar said he must clarify where he is going and furnish the full details of his journey if he is allowed to leave the country.