Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 14: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside proceedings initiated by the Patna High Court that had demanded that Sahara Chief Subrata Roy appear before it.
It was made clear by a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and JB Pardiwala that the High Court could not have begun recovery actions for Sahara investors in a motion for anticipatory bail.
“The High Court should exercise circumspection in deciding matters and not decide on unrelated matters. Here, the High Court kept anticipatory bail pending and issued notice to third parties. That is impermissible and cannot be countenanced. The High Court has exceeded its jurisdiction,” the court stated.
The Bench stated that the High Court was not permitted to conduct a bail hearing in the manner it did.
“A 438 application is specific to the issue of the concerned applicant applying for a grant of bail. In such proceedings, we have no matter of doubt that enquiry must be limited and facts relevant to the applicant before the court. No attempt should be made to enquire into matters of a third party not mentioned in the complaint,” the bench added.
Notably, the Patna High Court decision directing the Patna Police to present Sahara Group Chairman Subrata Roy before it on May 12 had been delayed by the Supreme Court in May of this year. The High Court order was followed by this order from the same Bench, and the proceedings were suspended pending further orders.
The High Court issued an order for Roy to be arrested and brought before the Court after Roy reportedly disobeyed the sentence ordering his attendance.
Sibal had argued during the most recent hearing before the Supreme Court that the warrant was issued while anticipatory bail pleas in fraud cases connected to the recovery of dues payable by Sahara Group firms were being heard.
It was argued that even though Roy was not a party to any of those anticipatory bail proceedings, he was included as a party after they were changed to an omnibus case for recovery.
The Court subsequently granted Roy temporary protection. Both the court order requiring his personal appearance and the one ordering the police to bring him into court were suspended.
With regard to the reimbursement of money obtained from investors, The Sahara Group and Roy are already involved in a legal dispute with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
In 2012, the Supreme Court ordered the Sahara Group to return to investors the $24,000 crore it had taken from them along with 15% interest.
