SEBI moves SC for arrest of Sahara chief

New Delhi (PTI): SEBI on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking arrest of Sahara group promoter Subrata Roy Sahara and barring him from leaving the country after two companies of the group failed to comply with court's order to refund Rs 24,000 crore to its investors. The market regulator mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice K S Radhakrishnan which agreed to hear its plea and posted the case for hearing in the first week of April. SEBI urged the court to allow it to "take measures for arrest and detention in civil prison of promoter of Sahara Subrata Roy Sahara and the two male directors---Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar Dubey ---after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing." SEBI also sought direction that their passports be deposited with the Supreme Court. Sahara group and SEBI are locked in legal dispute over the refunding of Rs 24,000 crore by its two companies--Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHIC). Meanwhile, the company alleged that Sebi is maliciously leaking news to media without substance."Every day, SEBI is maliciously leaking to media (reason best known to them), one or the other news, without any substance, against Sahara, to wreck personal vengeance, by some officers involved in handling with the matter," the statement said.