The Sahara Group informed the Supreme Court on Friday that it was ready to furnish Rs. 5,000 crore in bank guarantees to complete the payment of Rs. 10,000 crore required to secure the release of its chief Subrata Roy on bail, but the apex court pointed to the company’s long-pending liability to refund Rs. 24,000 crore to investors.
A three-judge Bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur, while allowing Sahara to furnish the bank guarantees for bail by next week, asked the company when it would finally honour its investors.
The court on March 26, 2014, asked 65-year-old Roy, who has been in Tihar Jail since March 4, 2014, to pay Rs.10,000 crore — Rs. 5,000 crore in cash and the rest in bank guarantees — to get bail.
“We will accept the bank guarantees, but we would also like to address the issue of balance amount that has to be paid,” the Bench, comprising Justices A.R. Dave and A.K. Sikri, said.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for the SEBI, said the court order on August 31, 2012, asking the company to refund Rs. 24,000 crore with 15 per cent interest in three months to the depositors still held good.
