Supreme Court refuses bail to Sahara's Subrata Roy

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to free Sahara group chairman Subrata Roy on bail, fixing March 25 as the next date of hearing. Roy was sent to jail 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. On Wednesday, Roy had challenged his judicial custody, terming his detention in Delhi's Tihar Jail as "unconstitutional".

"Prayer... for bail cannot be considered at this juncture, since no written proposal for payment in compliance with the directions issued by this court has been made so far," a bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar said in a short order. "The key is in your hand," Justice Khehar told Roy's lead lawyer, Ram Jethmalani.

The bench offered Jethmalani a hearing on Friday, but the 90-year-old senior counsel refused, citing teaching commitments. The bench then listed the case for further hearing on March 25.

Roy has claimed that he is only a minority shareholder in the two companies and not involved in their day-to-day running, and, hence, should not be held guilty of violating the court's order.

He has also contended that the top court has not heard him nor convicted him on the count of contempt of court and, hence, could not have sent him to judicial custody.

"Make a proposal and we shall see," Justice Radhakrishnan said when counsel Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for the directors and Roy, pointed out that the court's insistence on such a large cash payment upfront was tantamount to fixing Roy's bail bond at Rs 20000 crore.

The bench, however, discounted this. Dhavan pointed out several procedural and substantive violations in the order remanding Roy to judicial custody.