The Supreme Court on Thursday accepted Sahara chief Subrata Roy’s undertaking to pay Rs 2,000 in the Sahara-Securities and Exchange Board of India refund account by July 15, PTI reported. Roy, who appeared before the apex court in the afternoon, promised to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the Sahara-Sebi account before or on June 15.
The Supreme Court warned Roy that if the cheque is not realised by June 19, he will be sent to Tihar Jail. The court will hear the case again that day. Roy has also promised to pay the second instalment of Rs 552 crore by July 15.
Earlier this week, the Income Tax Department had issued a notice to Sahara Group’s Aamby Valley Ltd, asking the corporate giant to pay tax and a penalty worth Rs 24,646 crore. The notice was issued after the I-T officials conducted a special audit of the company and found that income of more than Rs 48,000 crore had not been declared in the company’s records in the 2012-’13 assessment year
Last week, the Supreme Court had ordered the auction of the Aamby Valley property in Lonavala after Roy failed to deposit money to refund its investors. The bench had asked the Bombay High Court to act as the liquidator in the sale of the prime property, which is valued at more than Rs 39,000 crore.
On February 6, the Supreme Court had ordered the attachment of the Aamby Valley property to recover dues from the company. The bench, led by Justice Dipak Misra, had ordered the attachment to fast-track recovery of the dues. The court had extended Roy’s parole after a sum of Rs 600 crore was deposited with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The company had acknowledged that it owed Rs 14,000 crore as principal money to Sebi, but the top court then denied its offer to clear its dues by July 2019.
The Sahara Group has been embroiled in a lengthy court battle with the market regulator over a case involving a Rs 24,000-crore refund to investors. The apex court had said it would focus on the repayment of the principal amount before ensuring that the group repays the interest.
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