Feature
Subrata Roy’s freedom linked to sale of Sahara assets:SC
New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the possibility of Sahara chief Subrata Roy’s release from jail would depend on the outcome of the first round of auction of Sahara’s assets by market regulator SEBI.
The bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice A.K. Sikri said this as it was urged to release Roy who is in jail since March 4, 2014 on parole or put under house arrest in view of his falling health and the hot summer.
Pressing for Roy’s release, counsel Rajeev Dhavan told the court that Roy was in “substantial compliance” of the order of the court.
“I am required for compliance of order of this court and I am not required for any offence,” Dhavan told the court.
The court in the last hearing on March 29 had asked SEBI to go ahead with the sale of Sahara properties whose unencumbered title deeds are in its possession.
Of the 60 properties of Sahara that are up for e-auction beginning next week, HDFC and SBI Cap would sell 30 properties each.
The court also asked Sahara to submit a list of its entire properties.
Noting that the sale of Sahara’s assets in the first round may generate enough money required for his release, the court sought details of Sahara’s assets to ascertain whether they were sufficient to meet his liabilities towards investors, which according to SEBI stands at Rs.38,000 crore.
Having asked SEBI in the March 29 hearing to take steps for selling Sahara’s properties, the court had said the properties would not be sold at a price less than 90 percent of the prevailing circle rates.
Asking the market regulator to appoint an agency to work out the mechanism for the sale of properties stated to be worth Rs.40,000 crore, the court in the last hearing said the entire process would be undertaken under the supervision of former Supreme Court judge Justice B.N. Agrawal.
The court had said Sahara would be informed about the steps taken for the sale of its properties.
The court by its March 4, 2014, order had sent Roy and two directors — Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary — to jail for not complying with its orders.
The court on March 26, 2014 had said Sahara will deposit Rs.10,000 crore as part payment of investors’ Rs.24,000 crore that its two companies — SIRECL and SHICL — had collected through OFCD as a condition for the release of Roy and the two other directors.
The court on August 31, 2012, directed the two companies — Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd. (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd. (SHICL) — to return with a 15 percent interest the Rs.17,400 crore it had mopped up as debentures from investors in 2008 and 2009.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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