SC looks at facilities for Sahara chief for property sale

A bench of Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice A.K. Sikri, while asking the Delhi government to examine Sahara's plea, made it clear that the facilities to be extended to Roy will be only for facilitating the negotiations for sale of properties in order to comply with the directions of the court and not to extend him any comfort.

The court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday when it will take up the Delhi government's response to Sahara's plea. 

It asked the Delhi government to come forward "one or two alternatives and what is most convenient" and the manner in which the confidentiality of buyer or lender could be maintained, added senior counsel K.T.S. Tulsi, who appeared for Roy.

In the course of the hearing, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the court that Roy can bring secretarial staff and other equipment as sought in the application but they would not be allowed to have their own internet access.

The court was told that they would be provided with the wifi facilities being used by the Tihar Jail authorities protected by a pass word.

The solicitor general said that Roy and other two directors - Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary - would be allowed to use the guest house to facilitate their negotiations and not for lodging. After their work was over, they will have to return back to their barracks.

Addressing the submission by Tulsi that in the course of negotiations, Roy and the other two will have to speak to people based as US and China with different time zones, Ranjit Kumar said that three of then could be allowed to go the guest house from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. which would take care of hurdles of time zones of the people they have to speak to.

At the outset of the hearing, the court, referring to Sahara plea, said: "What you say it amounts to setting up Sahara's establishment in jail. It is like business from jail." 

"Issue is not to make them comfortable. But give them other opportunities to negotiate. These are not small scale transactions. These run into crores of rupees. Now it appears from media reports that there are contacts," the court told the solicitor general.

The court also made it clear that whatever may be done it should be without creating precedent. 

Underlining the distinctness of the situation, it said that "this is a unique situation  where as a bail condition a person has to sell his assets worth thousands of crore of rupees".

The solicitor general informed the court that there was a guest house near the staff quarters of jail staff and Lt. Governor of Delhi can convert it into jail.

As Tulsi underlined that the identity of those who would come for negotiation had to be guarded, Ranjit Kumar said that under the Tihar Jail rules, any one entering the complex will have to record his entry in the register and there is no other way.

Roy Thursday moved the court seeking to be shifted to an outhouse within the Tihar Jail premises to facilitate the sale/encumbrance group's domestic and overseas properties to raise Rs. 10,000 crores as a part payment of money collected by group's two companies SIRECL and SHICL 2008-09 from investors.

Part payment of Rs. 10,000 crores is also a condition for the release of Roy and the two other directors who are in judicial custody since March 4.