Sahara group chief Subrata Roy surrenders to authorities, sent to police custody till March 4
Lucknow: A day after the police could not trace him to execute a Supreme Court warrant for his arrest, Sahara India chief Subrata Roy was on Friday sent to police custody till March 4, the day he will be presented before the apex court.
The chief judicial magistrate here said Roy will be kept in police custody till the apex court hearing.
Sahara Chief Subrata Roy Sahara with his wife in Mumbai. File pic
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Earlier, the Sahara chief walked into the court premises around 5.30 p.m. and was whisked away to the court room.
His counsel V.K. Shahi said Roy was a law-abiding citizen and was not running away from the court.
The chief judicial magistrate left it to the discretion of Uttar Pradesh Police to decide whether to keep Roy in his bungalow or somewhere else.
The surrender came soon after Roy released a statement to the media, saying he was not absconding and that he had already requested the law-enforcement agencies to do their duty as directed by the courts.
"I am not that human being who will abscond. In fact, being a law-abiding citizen, I shall hate myself to do any such thing ever in my life," said Roy, who had informed the court Thursday that his non-appearance was neither intentional nor deliberate.
The apex court Feb 26 had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Roy for failing to appear before it in person as directed by the court in its order six days earlier.
Taking serious view of Roy's non-appearance, the apex court said: "The arm of this court is very long. We will issue warrants. This is the Supreme Court of the land. When other directors are here, why can't he be here?"
Roy said he was absent since he wanted to be with his ailing mother, who is 92.
"Last evening, I had gone out of Sahara Shaher, Lucknow, to consult with a panel of doctors with certain medical reports of my mother and then I had gone to a lawyers' house also," he said in the statement Friday.
"I was informed by my family members that police had come and they said something to the media and then the whole media in the country started saying I am absconding," he said, adding: "Am I absconding? I have started hating myself."
The Supreme Court had directed the presence of Roy and the three directors of his group firms following their failure to submit to the market regulator title deeds of some of the unencumbered properties.
This was to secure the balance of Rs.19,000 crore out of Rs.24,000 crore that these firms had collected through optionally fully convertible debentures. These Sahara companies had deposited Rs.5,120 crore with the regulator in December 2012.
The matter has been listed for further hearing March 4, even as Roy requested the court to allow him to be with his mother till March 3. He also said he will follow the court orders unconditionally.
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