New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday gave Sahara chief Subrata Roy a 15-working-day extension to stay in the conference hall of Tihar Jail court complex for negotiating the sale of his overseas hotels and assets within the country to raise Rs.10,000 crore to make part payment of investors' money collected through OFCDs.
Allowing Roy and two other directors - Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary - to stay in conference hall for 15 working days beyond the existing stay that expires on Aug 19, the apex court bench of Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice A.K. Sikri made it clear that Roy would not be allowed any further extension.
"You must ensure that you comply with it within the extended period and you will not come from more extension," Justice Thakur told senior counsel Ganesh as Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the court that Tihar Jail authorities would not agree to any further extension.
The apex court Aug 1 had ordered the shifting of Sahara chief Subrata Roy and two other directors to a make-shift jail in conference hall to let him to negotiate with lenders, and prospective buyers of three Sahara hotels Grosvenor House Hotel in London and the New York Plaza and Dream New York hotels in New York and properties within the country.
In their affidavit, Roy and two directors told the court that an 'in principle' agreement had been reached with a foreign party for the sale of three hotel properties and, in fact, a draft of Memorandum of Agreement had also been drawn up in this regard.
It said that Sahara had managed to obtain 'in principle' approval of a foreign bank for the grant of bank guarantee for the amount of US $850 million equivalent to Rs. 5000 crores through a tie-up with an Indian schedule bank.
While granting the extension, the court asked the senior counsel Ganesh that they should also focus on paying the balance amount which is now pegged at Rs. 39,000 crores by SEBI, coupled with a tax demand of Rs. 10,000 crores.
"The moment you come out we will ask you for balance (amount). You have to work out the plan", said Justice Thakur.
The apex court had March 26, 2014, asked Sahara to deposit Rs. 10,000 crore - Rs.5,000 in cash and Rs.5,000 in bank guarantee - as part payment for investors' money that its two companies SIRECL and SHICL had collected through Optional Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCDs) in 2008-09.
This also happens to be a condition for Subrata Roy and his two directors' release from judicial custody to which they were sent March 4 for not complying with the court's orders.
