 "Some ink, much drama at SC")
As the Uttar Pradesh police produced arrested Sahara India promoter Subrata Roy before a Supreme Court bench on Tuesday, unprecedented scenes were witnessed.
By noon, a crowd started gathering at the Pragati Maidan entrance to the court, with scribes tailing Roy’s son, Seemanto, and other group executives waiting there. Around 1 pm, someone shouted a police vehicle had arrived on the other side, triggering a mini race.
Moments after a white Scorpio was parked before the entry-pass counters on the Tilak Marg side, it was mobbed by TV cameramen, photographers and Sahara group officials. As Roy stepped out in his usual black and white uniform, complete with a waist coat and dark sunglasses, the commotion peaked. Suddenly, a short, well-built man approached Roy and splashed black ink on him. Before anyone realised what had happened, the man slipped out of the crowd and took off his shirt and vest, revealing a tattoo that said ‘Azad Hindustani’ in Hindi. He spread his arms wide and shouted, “Yeh sabse bada chor hai (he is the biggest thief),” attracting all the cameras towards himself. Meantime, Roy was whisked away into the pass counters and, subsequently, into the court. As some Sahara supporters started attacking the ink-thrower, the police stepped in.
Appearing for the Uttar Pradesh Police, senior lawyer Gaurav Bhatia, was seated close to Ravi Shankar Prasad, a Sahara counsel. While Bhatia is often seen speaking for the cause of the Samajwadi Party on television debates, Prasad is a BJP spokesperson.
Senior Sahara counsel Ram Jethmalani had to use his loud voice to gain entry. By 1:45 pm, the room was packed. The entire corridor was blocked, as scores of passes were said to have been taken by Sahara group officials. At 1:54, Roy was led into the room by Seemanto. They were followed by Sahara group officials Abhijit Sarkar and Romie Dutt.
Now, the sunglasses were off Roy’s face and so were the ink stains. Sahara directors Ashok Roy Choudhry, Ravi Shankar Dubey and Vandana Bhargava then made their way into the courtroom. C A Sundaram, who represented Roy, later told the bench, “My lord, (I have) never seen such a sight before. We had to struggle to get entry. I had to scream.”
Roy took a seat behind Jethmalani and was flanked by advocate Satish Kishanchandani and Jethmalani’s assistants, standing on the narrow corridor. Despite the attack, Roy was composed and listened to the briefing by his battery of lawyers, as he waited for the judges to arrive. At the beginning of the hearing, Roy tendered his unconditional apology to the court for having failed to appear before it earlier, which the bench said it accepted.
During the course of the two-hour courtroom battle, the bench gave Roy several opportunities to present his case. In his typical style, he stated before the court the arguments that had been repeated by the group through several advertisements, arguments that had been rejected by the court—premature cash refunds, the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s refusal to verify documents and the livelihoods of 1,200,000 workers and 80 million investors. He assured he wanted to comply with every word of the court order. “Not even this much deviation,” he said, crunching his fingers. The court said he was being advised wrongly, adding refunding in cash was not in accordance with the law and couldn’t be accepted.
At one point, Roy told the court for his efforts in financial inclusion, he would have been praised in any other country “but not in this country”. He pleaded for another opportunity, saying “After that, you will love us. You will give us a pat on the back”. The court, however, was in no mood to agree. When the bench finally spelt out its decision, Roy’s face fell. He stood up and asked, “What proposal do you want?”
By then, it was too late.
By noon, a crowd started gathering at the Pragati Maidan entrance to the court, with scribes tailing Roy’s son, Seemanto, and other group executives waiting there. Around 1 pm, someone shouted a police vehicle had arrived on the other side, triggering a mini race.
Moments after a white Scorpio was parked before the entry-pass counters on the Tilak Marg side, it was mobbed by TV cameramen, photographers and Sahara group officials. As Roy stepped out in his usual black and white uniform, complete with a waist coat and dark sunglasses, the commotion peaked. Suddenly, a short, well-built man approached Roy and splashed black ink on him. Before anyone realised what had happened, the man slipped out of the crowd and took off his shirt and vest, revealing a tattoo that said ‘Azad Hindustani’ in Hindi. He spread his arms wide and shouted, “Yeh sabse bada chor hai (he is the biggest thief),” attracting all the cameras towards himself. Meantime, Roy was whisked away into the pass counters and, subsequently, into the court. As some Sahara supporters started attacking the ink-thrower, the police stepped in.
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Court number seven, in which the bench comprising judges K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar was to assemble, started filling as soon as the earlier bench broke for lunch. By 1.10 pm, the seats were already taken and guards tried to restrict entry for curious lawyers and journalists.
Appearing for the Uttar Pradesh Police, senior lawyer Gaurav Bhatia, was seated close to Ravi Shankar Prasad, a Sahara counsel. While Bhatia is often seen speaking for the cause of the Samajwadi Party on television debates, Prasad is a BJP spokesperson.
Senior Sahara counsel Ram Jethmalani had to use his loud voice to gain entry. By 1:45 pm, the room was packed. The entire corridor was blocked, as scores of passes were said to have been taken by Sahara group officials. At 1:54, Roy was led into the room by Seemanto. They were followed by Sahara group officials Abhijit Sarkar and Romie Dutt.
Now, the sunglasses were off Roy’s face and so were the ink stains. Sahara directors Ashok Roy Choudhry, Ravi Shankar Dubey and Vandana Bhargava then made their way into the courtroom. C A Sundaram, who represented Roy, later told the bench, “My lord, (I have) never seen such a sight before. We had to struggle to get entry. I had to scream.”
Roy took a seat behind Jethmalani and was flanked by advocate Satish Kishanchandani and Jethmalani’s assistants, standing on the narrow corridor. Despite the attack, Roy was composed and listened to the briefing by his battery of lawyers, as he waited for the judges to arrive. At the beginning of the hearing, Roy tendered his unconditional apology to the court for having failed to appear before it earlier, which the bench said it accepted.
During the course of the two-hour courtroom battle, the bench gave Roy several opportunities to present his case. In his typical style, he stated before the court the arguments that had been repeated by the group through several advertisements, arguments that had been rejected by the court—premature cash refunds, the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s refusal to verify documents and the livelihoods of 1,200,000 workers and 80 million investors. He assured he wanted to comply with every word of the court order. “Not even this much deviation,” he said, crunching his fingers. The court said he was being advised wrongly, adding refunding in cash was not in accordance with the law and couldn’t be accepted.
At one point, Roy told the court for his efforts in financial inclusion, he would have been praised in any other country “but not in this country”. He pleaded for another opportunity, saying “After that, you will love us. You will give us a pat on the back”. The court, however, was in no mood to agree. When the bench finally spelt out its decision, Roy’s face fell. He stood up and asked, “What proposal do you want?”
By then, it was too late.