Disclose source of money raised: SC to Roy

“You tell us what the source of this money is? You get money to the tune of Rs 24,000 crore from other companies or other schemes? Withdrawn from bank accounts or sold property? It should be any of the three. It cannot fall from the heavens. You have to show us from where. You have to reveal your source”: Chief Justice T S Thakur to Sahara Group.

In the strongest ever attack on Sahara group and its chief Subrata Roy, the Supreme Court has asked it to reveal from where it had raised Rs 25,000 crore and paid its investors in cash.

“Can such huge amount fall from the heavens? It is difficult to digest. Though we don't doubt the capacity of your client to pay crores of money to investors, that too in cash in two months. Tell us the source of the cash and there will be no need to open the pandoras box”, a special bench headed by chief justice T S Thakur observed during the hearing yesterday.

The bench has sought an answer in this regard from Kapil Sibal, the senior advocate appearing for the Group and Roy, by September 16.

“You start the hearing on that date by disclosing from where you got the money. Show us the documents. How the money was lying in other schemes, the bench said.

This was after Sibal submitted that the group had raised money and paid to its investors in cash and the market regulator SEBI was running away from finding out crores of investors.

“This is your (Sahara's) claim. SEBI has a very simple question. Please tell us from where you got the money. You tell us and we will close the case. You tell us how you raised Rs 25,000 crore in cash”, the bench said.

Strongly defending the group, Sibal said it was open to any investigation. “But if the presumption was black money, who is SEBI to probe? It is a matter exclusively under Income Tax
department”, he said.

However, the bench said the onus was on the business house to reveal the source of the money, whether it is accounted money or unaccounted money. Was it lying in your bank account or you got it from schemes floated by you, the bench said as Sibal tried to convince that the Group drew money from others schemes in which the investment was made. I have already filed an affidavit, Sibal said.