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Contempt of CourtSupreme Court of India

Subrata Roy Sahara v. Union of India

Writ Petition (Criminal) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 57 of 2014)Decided 6 May 2014
Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 57 of 2014
Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan · Justice J.S. Khehar

Background

Subrata Roy challenged the Supreme Court's order sending him and two other Sahara contemnors into judicial custody. That order followed repeated failures to comply with final directions requiring two Sahara companies to deposit investor-refund money and provide verifiable information. He sought release, questioned the legality of detention and asked the judges who had made the order to withdraw from hearing his challenge.

Decision Breakdown

The Court dismissed the petition and refused to recuse, finding no substantiated basis for alleged bias. It held that the proposed fresh writ challenge to its judicial order was unavailable; review and curative procedures provided the recognized routes for correction. On the facts, repeated hearings, personal submissions and earlier enforcement measures had preceded detention, defeating the claim that Roy had been denied a hearing. The claimed refunds were unsupported by authentic investor-level material, and the Court rejected the argument that financial obligations could never be enforced through detention. Its discussion proposing compulsory litigation costs was a legislative suggestion, rather than an enacted costs code.

Lesson Learnt

Final refund orders require verifiable compliance; unsupported claims that investors have already been paid do not satisfy them. A person challenging a Supreme Court judicial order must use the recognized correction procedure, rather than assume a fresh writ petition will reopen it.

Subrata Roy Sahara v. Union of India – Legal Case Shots | LegalAware