On a roller-coaster day filled with drama, Sahara chief Subrata Roy was almost sent back to Tihar Jail on Friday when the Supreme Court, suddenly cancelled his parole after taking offence to certain comments made by his lawyer.
His parole was later extended by the apex court to September 28 after his lawyers rendered an unconditional apology. A special hearing in the Sahara case took an unexpected turn when a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice AK Sikri took strong exception to the remarks made by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing the group, in court.
Trouble started when Dhavan complained about the process of sale of the group’s attached properties. But SEBI countered that eight Sahara properties were sold for ₹137 crore and 58 put up for auction. The market regulator submitted that the list of properties given by Sahara was of those already attached by SEBI.
To this, the Bench reacted by questioning Sahara's bonafide in the case. “You gave a list of properties which are already attached and you are not cooperating. It’s better if you go to jail,” Chief Justice Thakur remarked.
The court then asked Sahara to deposit ₹300 crore for an extension of the parole which was to expire on Friday. Dhavan submitted that his client has already deposited ₹352 crore. At this, the Bench ordered all its interim orders of the past to be cancelled and directed Roy to be taken back into custody.
Things went into a tizzy in the Sahara camp immediately after the order. As crisis deepened, the group’s chief counsel and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was unwell, appeared before the Chief Justice to render an “unconditional apology”. Sibal beseeched the court to withdraw the earlier order.