Supreme Court turns down Sahara chief’s plea for release on bond

Sahara group chief Subrata Roy would continue to be lodged in Tihar jail for some more time after the Supreme Court today turned down his plea for release on a personal bond with an assurance that he would not leave the country.

The apex court bench of justice KS Radhakrishnan and justice JS Khehar reiterated their earlier order as they asked senior counsel Ram Jethmalani if any proposal had been made by the Sahara chief to deposit the balance of Rs19,000 crore to SEBI for resumption of investors' money.

The court refused to entertain the offer of Rs2,500 crore as part payment of the outstanding amount.

The court had earlier rejected a similar offer by Sahara as unacceptable.

The Supreme Court said the matter would next be heard on 25 March.

Sahara chairman Subrata Roy, 65, was arrested on 28 February after he failed to appear at a contempt hearing in the long-running legal battle between the unlisted group and the securities regulator over repayment of crores of rupees to investors in illegal bonds.

Roy who is being held in a Delhi jail since 4 March has not been charged with a crime and was not present in court today.

The court, last week, rejected a Sahara proposal to give bank guarantees of Rs22,500 crore within three to six months, as also subsequent proposal to pay a total of Rs17,400 crore in six instalments through July 2015.

Sahara has been asked by the court to come up with a "concrete and acceptable" plan to refund investors.