SC sets aside Patna HC order summoning Sahara group chief Subrata Roy

The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside an order of the Patna High Court summoning Sahara group chief Subrata Roy in an anticipatory bail case.

Roy was a third party in the bail application hearing. The High Court (HC) had asked Sahara to convey a plan for refunding the matured deposits of investors.

A Supreme Court bench of A M Khanwilkar and J B Pardiwala said they noticed that the HC had kept aside the issue of considering the anticipatory bail application and instead issued directions to third parties(Roy) to appear before it. “This in our opinion is impermissible as the HC has exceeded its jurisdiction in this case. Accordingly, all the observations or notings made by the HC in respect of matters unrelated to the case of the applicant before it must stand effaced from the record in law," said the apex court.

When a bail matter is pending, a court should limit itself to deciding the matter at hand. "In such proceedings, we have no manner of doubt that an enquiry must be limited to facts relevant to the present application(bail) before the court and no attempt to probe into matters relating to the third party, much less beyond the scope of complaint/FIR should be in question,” said the apex court.

Justices Khanwilkar and Pardiwala did not accept a lawyer’s view that such an observation may set a bad example for the high courts

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, expressed its displeasure against a Patna High Court judge who had ordered Roy’s arrest on May 13. This was in a cheating case unrelated to the Sahara group.