Essar founder Ravikant Ruia (pictured above) has been barred from leaving the country by the Supreme Court ahead of a verdict in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, reported Economic Times. The two-judge bench comprising Justice JS Khehar and Justice Arun Kumar Misra said it did not want to take a chance in the case considering past experience.
Without mentioning any names, Justice Khehar said, "We have cut a very sorry figure. See he was a person as good as you are ... But then you know what happened. We don't want to get into this. Once bitten, twice shy." He was likely referring to former liquor baron Vijay Mallya who left India in March after it came to light that he owed Rs 9,000 crore to 17 banks in the country.
Trying to build a case for Ruia to travel abroad for business appointments, his lawyer even suggested that his client's brother, who is the head of the conglomerate, will stand surety for him, and he was also willing to go to jail if the accused does not return to India. To this, the court said, "How can he (the brother) go to jail? It is a ridiculous suggestion."
Special public prosecutor Anand Grover informed the court that judgment in the case will be passed in the month of February or March of 2017, according to The Times of India.
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