Sahara submits fresh proposal for refunding Rs 20,000 crore

Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy, presently lodged in Tihar jail for defying court orders, on Tuesday submitted before the Supreme Court a fresh proposal for of Rs 20,640 crore to refund the investors' money within a year.

Roy was sent to jail by the apex court on March 4 by the top court in connection with contempt proceedings over two group companies' failure to pay Rs 20,000 crore by way of dues to market regulator SEBI.

Appearing for Sahara group, senior counsel A C Sundaram told the bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar that his client has come out with a fresh proposal and the court should see and consider Roy's bail plea.

The bench, however, refused to accept it saying "the document (proposal) was not filed in a proper manner. File at the registry and it should come through proper channel." The bench posted the matter for Wednesday after hearing the arguments on the maintainability of his habeas corpus plea.

The company has proposed to pay Rs 20,640 crore of the investors' money within one year instead of 15months and in five installments.

The group has assured the bench that it will pay Rs 2,500 crore within 3-4 working days and will pay three installments of Rs 3,500 crore each at the end of June, September and December this year and Rs 7000 crore will be paid by March 31, 2015.

Roy in his petition had submitted that detaining him was "purely illegal, contrary to the procedure prescribed by law and against the principles of natural justice".

Earlier, the company had offered Rs 17,400 crore to refund in 15 installments but the bench had refused the same while declining him to release him on bail.