Subrata Roy and the two Sahara directors await SC orders for their release
Subrata Roy and the two Sahara directors are in the prison for over four months now, and are waiting for the Supreme Court (SC) to declare its verdict soon. The Sahara versus SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) case has reached a crucial stage because the Supreme Court is likely to decide shortly on lifting the restrictions on sale of Sahara’s overseas properties. These properties are expected to fetch the company around Rs 7,000 crore.
The release of Roy and the two directors is dependent on their paying Rs 5,000 crore to SEBI in cash and another Rs 5,000 crore as bank guarantees. This money will be used to pay back depositors who allegedly haven’t been paid.
However Sahara has maintained that there are no outstanding payments, however the SC is still getting all the accounts audited by the IT sleuths. The court as insisted on this amount to be given to SEBI. Sahara has already paid Rs 3,100 crore and expects to pay the rest following the sale of its overseas properties.
Roy’s lawyers have been requesting to release Roy on parole as the prospect of the company raising this huge amount is very tough because it is difficult for the company to negotiate sales with the top brass in jail. However the SC is in favour of Sahara selling the Indian properties first before thinking about selling the overseas properties. The SC is also speculating if Roy can be allowed to use skype to close the deals.
Source- The Times of India (Mumbai Edition)
