The Supreme Court Thursday directed Sahara group chief Subrata Roy to appear before it on February 28 for failing to deposit Rs 25,700 crore in the SEBI-Sahara case for returning investors' money, warning that "the law will take its own course" now. Roy was sent to Tihar Jail by the apex court on March 4, 2014 and came out on parole after spending over two years in prison on May 6, 2016 to perform the last rites of his mother Chhabi Roy. He has been out of prison since then. The apex court noted that the Sahara group has already deposited around Rs 20,000 crore in the SEBI-Sahara account which includes Rs 15,000 crore and Rs 4,800 crore interest.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was irked over the fact that Roy, who was directed way back in August 2012 to pay around Rs 25,700 crore, has been unable to pay the amount despite "several opportunities and indulgence", and said that now the law will "chart its own course". The bench, which also comprised Justices A K Sikri and S K Kaul, did not allow the contention of senior lawyer Vikas Singh, appearing for Roy, that it was a case of "double payment" of investors' money as the dues have already been paid. The plea of Singh that SEBI be directed to conduct verification of the group's claims of payments made to investors was rejected by the bench which said that this has been raised several times in the past.