You are 'manipulating' courts, SC tells Sahara group

Apex court slams the group and its chief for not filing response on SEBI's contempt plea against them

The Sahara group and its promoter Subrata Roy today faced a tough time in the Supreme Court which pulled them up for not refunding Rs 24,000 crore to its investors and accused them of "manipulating courts" by approaching different forums for relief.

A bench comprising by Justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar slammed the group and its chief for not filing response on SEBI's contempt plea against them and also issued notice to them on the market regulator's plea to detain Roy and the two male directors --- Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar Dubey ---to get investors' money back from them.

The bench, which at one time asked Roy's counsel to make statement that he will not leave the country or it will pass directions, however refrained from doing so and granted one week time to him and his two companies to file their response.

The bench also expressed its anguish when the SEBI informed that Sahara India has filed a petition in Allahabad High Court after the apex court had passed the order for attaching the properties of the group's two companies if they failed to deposit Rs 24000 with the market regulator.

"You are manipulating courts which is going on," the bench said when Sahara's counsel submitted that SEBI is attaching Roy's personal property despite he being not a party in the case in which apex court had passed the verdict on refunding Rs 24,000 crore.

"We are not interested in parties. If you have done this (moving HC) then it is a contempt of this court. Even approaching SEBI is contempt. It is very strange that you seek extention of time from SEBI after Supreme Court's order and you file appeal after appeal," the bench said, adding "You must remedy your mistakes instead of repeating the mistakes.