Sahara group says it cannot pay Rs 36,000 crore in 18 months time

NEW DELHI: Sahara group on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it is impossible for any company to pay up a sum of Rs 36,000 crore over a year and a half, the principal due to investors in two of its schemes declared illegal by market regulator Sebi, but opposed the suggestion of an auction to dispose of its properties to garner funds to free chief Subrata Roy from jail.

"No one in the world can pay Rs 36,000 crore in one and half years," Sahara counsel Kapil Sibal told the court, which has fixed the dues including interest and principal at a much higher figure. "I want to pay. I am obliged to pay. But the court can't ask me to pay the interest even before I have paid the principal," he said.

Sebi had asked Sahara to pay the dues to its investors after declaring the two schemes illegal. Sahara later lost its case against the order both in Securities Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court, which asked the group to pay up the sum. Roy was later jailed by the top court for failing to appear personally in court in connection with the company's failure to make these payments. He has been in jail since March last year while his group is scrambling to arrangeRs 10,000 crore needed to free him.

The top court has insisted on a cash payment of Rs 5,000 crore and anotherRs 5,000 crore by way of a bank guarantee to free him, and also insisted that he come up with a repayment plan to pay the rest of his principal and interest dues.

Sahara has been contesting this figure, insisting that its cash payments to its investors be taken into account by the court and the market regulator before fixing the final amount due from the company. Although the group has failed to generate the money required to free Roy, it has stubbornly resisted any attempts by the court to auction its properties, insisting that this will further delay his release.

"Auction will ensure that I stay inside forever," Sibal said, vehemently opposing a court suggestion to Sebi to auction the properties amid a fight between two contenders over a property in Gorakhpur.

One party kept insisting that it was ready with Rs 64 crore for the 45-acre property, but another contender offered as much as Rs 110 crore for it, prompting the top court to throw the auction suggestion at Sebi counsel Arvind Datar again. The bench, comprising Justices TS Thakur, Anil R Dave and AK Sikri, will now deal with the issue again on Monday.