New Delhi, March 25
Sahara's jailed chief Subrata Roy today pleaded with the Supreme Court to release him, accepting the group's fresh proposal for refunding within a year Rs 20,000 crore it had collected from three crore investors since 2008 in the form of fully convertible debentures.

Under the new refund plan, the group offered to pay Rs 2,500 crore within three days, Rs 3,500 crore every three months (by the end of June, September and December) and Rs 7,000 crore by March 31 next year.

Two Sahara companies - Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHIC) - had mobilised about Rs 25,780 crore through debentures. It was declared illegal by the Securities Appellate Tribunal and the decision was upheld by the SC on August 31, 2012.

According to SEBI, Sahara's liability has since mounted to about Rs 37,000 crore, including 15 per cent interest, of which the group has paid only Rs 5,200 crore to the market regulator. Sahara's fresh proposal is silent on the interest component. Earlier, the SC had rejected Sahara's proposal for returning the amount over 18 months.

A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar would consider the fresh proposal tomorrow. Arguing for Sahara, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani today pleaded with the Bench to release his client immediately as the SEBI's contempt petition against Roy and two directors for non-refund was still pending.

The apex court's March 4 order sending Roy and directors Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary to Tihar Jail to be kept in judicial custody under Articles 129 and 142 of the Constitution (which have vested extraordinary powers with the SC for ensuring justice) was illegal as it was passed without hearing their version, Jethmalani contended.

The SC could resort to these two Articles only within the provisions of the overall Constitutional and legal framework meant for protecting people's fundamental rights, particularly the right to liberty, free movement and freedom of speech, he said. The arguments would continue tomorrow.