Sahara moves SC for postponement of hearing against it

Sahara group today appraoched the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the scheduled hearing on April 22 on SEBI's plea seeking its permission to detain Sahara Group's chairman Subrata Roy Sahara and to initiate contempt proceedings against him for not complying with its orders to refund Rs 24,000 crore to investors.

A bench headed by Justice K S Radhakrishnan said it will sit on April 22 and decide whether Sahara's plea can be considered or not. On March 15, SEBI had moved the apex court seeking the arrest of Sahara group promoter Subrata Roy Sahara and barring him from leaving the country after two companies of the group had failed to comply with court's order to refund Rs 24,000 crore to its investors.

SEBI had urged the court to allow it to "take measures for the arrest and detention in civil prison of promoter of Sahara Subrata Roy Sahara and the two male directors, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar Dubey after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing."

On February 6, the apex court had issued a notice to the Sahara Group and sought its response within four weeks as to why contempt action should not be initiated against its two companies.

It had also said SEBI was free to freeze accounts and seize properties of the two Sahara companies - Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHIC)  for defying the court's August 31, 2012 orders to refund Rs 24,000 crore to investors.

The apex court had on August 31 last year directed the two companies to refund around Rs 24,000 crore to their investors within three months with 15 per cent interest per annum for raising the amount from its investors in violation of rules and regulations.