Sahara chief Subrata Roy, who has been in Tihar Jail for the last 35 days, will continue to remain there for at least a week more, after the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday April 09,2014 turned down his request for release house arrest for negotiating with international buyers for sale of his properties.
"The Group is looking for international buyers to dispose of properties to collect money for his release on bail and also to pay back the investors. But no international buyer would like to visit the jail to negotiate a deal," Roy's counsel and senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani told a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar.
Ram Jethmalani said that conditions in Tihar Jail are pathetic because of overcrowding of prisoners, and that a prospective buyer would never want to visit such a place.
"My client is in Tihar jail and it makes it impossible for anybody to approach him. It is very difficult and almost impossible to raise money when Roy is behind the bars," Jethmalani told the Bench.
"The intention behind putting him in jail is to raise money, but it is not possible to do so when he is inside," Jethmalani said.
Ram Jethmalani also told the court that the Group has withdrawn its proposal from the SC in which it had assured to pay Rs 2,500 crore immediately and the rest Rs 2,500 crore in cash in three weeks for getting bail for Roy and the company two directors.
The court was not inclined to accept the plea and merely said that it will consider the request in due course.
"If we agree with you, then it is the end of the matter," the Bench said at the end of the hearing and asked the lawyers to file short written submissions on April 16, the next date of hearing.
"We have said that you are in judicial custody. You are under our custody. We have not sent you in civil imprisonment. In case of civil imprisonment, it would have amounted to awarding punishment," the Bench added.
The SC had imposed a condition that Roy will be freed on bail only if he pays Rs 10,000 crore out of which Rs 5,000 crore must be in bank guarantee and the rest Rs 5,000 crore in cash.
However, Sahara on April 3 had expressed its inability in immediately paying Rs 10,000 crore for securing bail for Roy and the two directors - Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary - who have been in jail since March 4,2014
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