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Sahara chief to hunt for a buyer for Grosvenor House from Tihar itself

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Subrata Roy has been lodged in Tihar jail since March this year
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Subrata Roy would take a 500 meter stroll within Tihar jail premises every day to negotiate with potential buyers of London's Grosvenor House and New York's Plaza hotel, through video conferencing at a conference hall of the prison complex. The formal order in the matter is expected in a few days as the two parties Tihar jail and Sahara Group have been asked by the Supreme Court to chalk out the modalities in the matter and submit the report on coming Friday.

The Delhi government on Wednesday informed SC that it would provide Roy the space within Tihar jail to negotiate deals to fulfill his obligations towards the Securities and exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Sahara Group has informed the court that it would use 30'x40' conference room with attached bath and 12'x12 annexe in the jail premises, one of the two options suggested by the Delhi government.

"The conference room is located near prison headquarters and is around 500 meters from the cell in jail number 3, where Roy is lodged," a senior official of Tihar jail told dna. Roy as of now has been given an a facility of additional fan after he complained of excessive heat inside his cell. Besides, a doctor is always available on call to attend to the Roy and other inmates as well.

As per the affidavit submitted by the Delhi government represented by solicitor general Ranjit Kumar, the jail authorities would also provide WiFi facilities to Roy at his own expense. Roy would also be allowed to use electronic and telecommunication gadgets, besides ministerial staff between 6am and 8pm, when the negotiations would take place.

Sahara counsel Harish Salve informed court about some practical difficulties in the time slot alloted by the government saying, "some negotiations can go well beyond 8pm as most of the potential buyers are based in Lost Angeles in the west coast of USA and New York, which has a time difference of more than 12 hours."

The jail authorities would allow only listed visitors or potential buyers to take cellphones or stationary items along. Kumar said Sahara has to provide the list of visitors in advance to the jail superintendent and all details will be kept confidential. Also, financial advisors, advocates and directors would also be allowed to meet inside the conference hall.

The Supreme Court sent Roy to jail in March this year directing two group firms to deposit with Sebi over Rs 24,029 crore raised from 29.6 million investors with interest. Sahara deposited Rs5,120 crore and claimed to have refunded the rest to investors directly, but the court has refused to entertain this argument. The dues have since swelled to Rs37,000 crore along with interest.

The court has given Roy a conditional bail requiring payment of Rs10,000 crore- one half in cash and the other half in the form of bank guarantee. The group has deposited a further Rs3,100 crore in cash so far.

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