The Supreme Court had earlier asked Sahara to deposit Rs 10,000 crore for securing bail of its chief Subrata Roy. (File photo)
The Supreme Court today told the unlisted Sahara conglomerate that it can sell one of the premium properties it owns to furnish the Rs 10,000 crore that is needed to pay bail for its jailed chief, Subrata Roy.
However, the judges rejected Sahara's contention that Mr Roy, 65, needs to be released from jail to negotiate the sale.
"Sahara Pariwar is a big pariwar, they can do it," the judges said, acerbically invoking the group's repeated reference to it as a large, united family.
Sahara said it is willing to sell hotels located in New York and London to raise the amount needed to secure the release of its chairman, who was arrested on February 28. The core business of Sahara, which owns New York's Plaza Hotel and London's Grosvenor House, includes selling financial products, largely to small investors in towns and rural areas.
Two such products were ruled to be illegal and the Supreme Court ordered Sahara in 2012 to refund nearly Rs 20,000 crore to small investors. So far, the court has refused a slew of proposals submitted by Sahara to resolve the matter.