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On a day when the newspapers splashed the Supreme Court arrest warrant against Sahara chief Subrata Roy on their front pages, some of their back pages contained full page advertisements issued by the group.
The advertisements signed as “We 12 Lakh workers, Sahara India Pariwar’, the group stuck to the claims made by Sahara lawyers in the court about the critical illness of Roy’s mother and the duty of her eldest son.
“If someone is insistent to take me away from my mother before she attains at least some recovery, what should a son do? My earnest request to the administration is to help me on humanitarian grounds as it involves the deep-rooted emotions of a son towards his beloved mother.”
The Supreme Court had in the past taken severe exception to such advertisements published by the group and had even asked the group to issue apology to Sebi in similar prominence when one of these advertisements made uncharitable remarks about the regulator. As if to pre-empt the highest court’s anger a prominent disclaimer said “whle the matter is subjudice, the information provided herein is solely in public interest without any disrespect to authority of Hon’ble Supreme Court.”
In the latest advertisement published in many English and Hindi newspapers, the group insisted that it had already refunded Rs 29,960 crore in cash and that “Now since we have been directed by Hon’ble court to pay another around Rs 20,000 crore in cash, we are fighting that we cannot do double payment.”
However, it has been Sebi’s contention that Sahara has to prove clearly how this amount has been refunded and by sale of which assets. In the court, Sahara had submitted that the money was raised by selling assets to other group entities such as Sahara India Cooperative Credit Society and Sahara Q shop which are raising money in cash through the 4,700 branches.
The advertisement further added that, “We at Sahara have done everything right, perfect and proper in the last 36 years, but in the last 2-3 years world-wide, have been so wrongly stamped in this Sebi case as not a law abiding company, defaulting in payment.” According to the note, “since the group chairman has been banned from travelling outside, everybody in the world is suspicious and enquiring whether Mr Subrata Roy is a criminal, since only criminals are banned from travelling outside.”
Keeping up with the times, Sahara quoted a tweet by “Somebody from New York” which apparently said that “India is a funny country. Fly by night financial companies do not face much legal, administrative action but Sahara who did all the payments are only fighting and fighting.”
Meanwhile, Sahara’s legal strategy itself became a subject of many tweets. Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi tweeted, “Astonishing who and how sahara Roy advised legally not to appear before SC. Deliberately provoking arrest warrant. Shd hav appd (appeared) apologised.”,
