Sahara chief Subrata Roy was given an interim bail for four weeks after his mother passed away recently.
The Supreme Court has raised questions about Sahara chief Subrata Roy's wealth and why he chose to be behind bars when the value of his assets could have easily covered the Rs 10,000-crore bail amount demanded by the apex court, a Times of India report has said.
Subrata Roy has been in Tihar jail since the last two years in the case of defrauding small investors of Rs 36,000 crore by way of a ponzi scheme. Out of this amount, he has paid up to Rs 12,000 crore to Sebi in lieu of the financial irregularities.
Roy was recently let out of jail on parole for four weeks after his mother passed after a prolonged illness. The Supreme Court on Wednesday was hearing a plea to extend his parole to six months, during which, his lawyer Kapil Sibil assured the bench of judges that the full amount will be paid back by the businessman.
While speaking to the bench -- which comprised of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices A R Dave and A K Sikri -- a sealed envelope carrying the details of Roy's personal wealth, immovable assets and other precious assets in gold, euro and dollar were presented.
The apex court expressed disbelief and demanded to know why he chose to stay in jail when his assets could have covered the bail amount.
"Your wealth and assets are huge and valued at a price that is far bigger than the liabilities. A person with this kind of wealth, why did he suffer two years of incarceration and not pay up the dues. Why is he reluctant to pay?" the SC asked Sibil, the report says.
Sibil has told the court that Roy will pay the amount if his bail is extended, and his properties can be sold by Sebi to raise the money.
To reiterate this, Sibil showed the court a cheque of Rs 500 crore, signed by Roy, which can be encashed in August, and another for Rs 4,500 crore as a guarantee if he did not pay up. However, he insisted that Roy's list of properties and wealth remains in the sealed envelope.
However, the SC has asked Roy to submit an undertaking within a week that he will deposit Rs 200 crore by July 11 to seek an interim bail extension till the date. With this, Roy will also be allowed to travel anywhere within the country. Till then, the SC has also asked Sebi to commence sale of 60 properties.
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