Subrata Roy

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Subrata Roy
Born(1948-06-10)10 June 1948
Araria, Bihar, India
Died14 November 2023(2023-11-14) (aged 75)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
EducationMechanical engineering
Alma materGovernment Technical Institute, Gorakhpur
Occupation(s)Founder and chairman of Sahara India Pariwar
Years active1978–2023

Subrata Roy (10 June 1948 – 14 November 2023) was an Indian businessman who founded the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar in 1978.

Roy was named the tenth-most influential Indian businessman in 2012 by India Today. In 2004, the Sahara group was termed by Time magazine as "the second largest employer in India after Indian Railways".[1] Sahara India Pariwar has operated a vast number of businesses, such as Aamby Valley City, Sahara Movie Studios, Air Sahara, Uttar Pradesh Wizards, and Filmy, among others.

Long accused of shady business practices including money laundering and running ponzi schemes, Roy was arrested in 2014 after failing to appear in court before it in connection with the Rs. 24,000 crore deposits his company has not refunded to investors. He was granted bail in 2016. He died in 2023.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Subrata Roy was born into a Bengali Hindu family in Araria on 10 June 1948[3] to Sudhir Chandra Roy and Chhabi Roy. His father and mother came from Dhaka, Bikrampur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) from a rich landlord family named Bhagyakul Zamindar.[4][5]

Roy studied at Holy Child Institute in Kolkata and later studied mechanical engineering at Government Technical Institute, Gorakhpur.[6] Roy started his first business in Gorakhpur.[7][8][9]

Business career

[edit]
Main article: Sahara India Pariwar

Roy joined Sahara Finance, a struggling company, in 1976,[10] that ran a chit fund[11] and took it over. He changed its financial model in 1978. Sahara is said to have used the financial model of much older Peerless Group. They are termed residuary non-banking companies (RNBCs)[12] that accept deposits of very low amounts.

In the 1990s, Roy moved to Lucknow which became the base of his group.[13] From there, it went on to become the largest conglomerate of India with a diversified range of business interests. The company now has interests in financial services, education, real estate, media, entertainment, tourism, healthcare, and hospitality.

The Hindi language newspaper Rashtriya Sahara was started in 1992. In the late 1990s, the ambitious Aamby Valley City project near Pune was initiated. In 2000, Sahara TV was launched which was later renamed Sahara One. In 2003, Sahara started three weeklies: Sahara Time (English), Sahara Samay (Hindi), and Sahara Aalmi (Urdu).[14]

In 2010, Sahara purchased the iconic Grosvenor House Hotel in London,[15] and then in 2012 the historic Plaza Hotel and Dream Downtown Hotel in New York City.[16]

As of 2013, Sahara had a workforce of around 1.2 million including salaried employees, consultants, field workers, agents, and business associates.[17] In 2013, 121,653 of its employees gathered in Lucknow to sing India's national anthem, setting a world record.[18] In 2004, Sahara group was termed by Time magazine as "the second-largest employer in India" after the Government-run Indian Railways. Sahara claimed to have nine crore plus investors and depositors, representing about 13% of all households in India.[19]

In 2017, Roy was planning to foray into online education (Edunguru) in India, which was targeted at small towns and villages. He put a team in place which consists of members from top universities and colleges across India, and even abroad.[20] The route map of the program was prepared, and 14,000 hours of lectures were developed for this.[21]

In June 2019, Roy announced his foray into the automobile sector under the brand name 'Sahara Evols'. The Sahara Evols venture is offering a wide range of electric vehicles (EVs) along with advanced allied services.[22][23][24]

[edit]
Main article: Sahara India Pariwar investor fraud case

Since 1990s, the Income Tax Department (IT) asserted that Sahara India Parivar is a money laundering operation. During their investigation, IT officials found many of the names and addresses of the depositors were fictitious. When IT officials asked Sahara to produce 62 depositors, the group could produce only 12 depositors. On 8 February 1997, IT department stated Sahara did not deny that leading politicians deposited their black money with it.[25][26]

On 26 February 2014, the Supreme Court of India ordered the detention of Roy for failing to appear before it in connection with a legal dispute with Market Regulator – SEBI.[27] In a statement after the arrest, his lawyer said Roy's 92-year-old mother was in poor health and needed "her eldest son" by her side, and hence he failed to appear at the court.[28] As he failed to appear in the court during the ongoing legal battle, Roy was held in custody in the Tihar Jail, Delhi and was out on parole since May 2016. Sahara was allowed to sell a part of its assets in India to raise part of the money in question.[29]

Roy rejected allegations of misconduct and accused the Indian National Congress of a witch hunt due to his opposition to Sonia Gandhi becoming the country's prime minister.[30]

Initially he was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on 26 March 2014 on condition of depositing ₹10,000 crore to the market regulator SEBI.[31] His deposit of ₹10,000 crore was not made.[32] As of August 2014, Roy was trying to sell some of his hotel properties to raise enough money.[33] Roy was granted his first bail in May 2017 for four weeks to perform the last rites for his deceased mother, later extended to 24 October.[34] From that time on he was successful in getting his bail extended on various grounds. As of 31 January 2019, Sahara still had to pay ₹10,621 crore to meet its total liability.[35]

Roy claimed that the company's fundamentals were intact and assets were greater (3 to 5 times) than the liabilities.[36] Sahara also deposited ₹22,500 crores, which it has been surmised will in due course of justice come back to Sahara India as it has already repaid 95% of its investors.[37]

The Securities And Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has repaid only ₹64 crore to the investors since 2012.[38] It has also been reported that Sahara has paid ₹725.97 crore as TDS (tax deducted at source) to the Income Tax Departments on the interest which along with investment was repaid to 95 percent of the investors, between 2009–2010 and 2012–2013. The income tax authorities had found that the beneficiary investors were existent and accordingly confirmed the repayments made in those particular years. One of Sahara's arguments in the apex court revolves around the fact that if one government body has found investors, why the other cannot do so.[20]

In January 2017, Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC) granted Sahara immunity from prosecution and penalty after the raids it carried out on November 2014 during which the Sahara-Birla Papers listing alleged bribes to politicians were recovered. Rahul Gandhi criticised this Prime minister Narendra Modi over this move and asked, "Immunity for Sahara or immunity for Modiji?"[39]

Other activities

[edit]

In 2004, Roy spent over 500 crore on weddings of both his sons Sushanto and Seemanto. Indian Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also attended the wedding.[40][41]

In 2013, Roy endorsed Narendra Modi for 2014 Indian general election.[42]

In 2013, Sahara contributed to the relief efforts in flood hit Uttarakhand region wherein one lakh bottles of drinking water, packaged juice and food packets along with candles and match boxes were said to be provided by them. There were 25 medical health unit vans equipped with doctors and free medicines made available and it was said by the group that, they will contribute to the rehabilitation programme by constructing 10,000 pre-fabricated houses.[43]

After the Kargil War, Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee praised Sahara India for providing financial support to the 127 families of martyrs.[44]

Hotel Sahara Star in Mumbai partnered with Feeding India in 2021. As a part of its CSR initiatives, the hotel provides food to hungry people.[45]

During his lifetime, he had written the following books:

  • Shanti, Sukh: Santushti - 1994, Essays on peace of mind and happy living.[46]
  • Maan, Samman, Atmasamman[47]
  • Life Mantras [48] - "Life Mantras" was released on 2 February 2016 in 5,120 public events across India. The book was among the top 5 in the Nielsen BookScan bestseller chart for India for four consecutive weeks.[49]
  • Think With Me[50] - The second book of his trilogy was launched on 18 December 2016,[51] at the national 'Think With Summit'.

Personal life

[edit]

Roy was married to Swapna Roy. They had two sons, Sushanto and Seemanto.[52]

Swapna and Sushanto had taken citizenship of Macedonia in 2013.[53][54]

Death

[edit]

Roy died due to cardiorespiratory arrest following an extended battle with complications arising from metastatic malignancy, hypertension and diabetes on 14 November 2023, at age 75.[55][56] He had been admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute in Mumbai on 12 November following a decline in health.[57]

His sons, Sushanto and Seemanto, residing outside India did not attend the funeral. His 16-year-old grandson performed the last rites. The funeral was attended by over 5,000 people including a number of prominent figures.[58]

Awards and honours

[edit]

Roy received an honorary doctorate in business leadership from the University of East London in 2013,[59] a Business Icon of the Year award at the Powerbrands Hall of Fame Awards in London in 2011[60] and was the ITA – TV Icon of the Year in 2007. He received the Global Leadership Award in 2004.[61]

Roy was awarded a general jury award by the Indian Television Academy Awards[62] and an honorary degree of D.Litt. by Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga.[63]

Roy featured regularly in the India Today list of 50 Most Powerful People of India since 2003[64] and was named its tenth-most influential businessmen in 2012.[65]

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Perry, Alex (6 December 2004). "A Tale of Two Indias". time.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Subrata Roy passes away: Bollywood celebs pay tribute to Saharashri, remember his film connect". The Indian Express. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  3. ^ "I Hope To Spend My Birthday With You: Sahara Chief". Forbes India. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  4. ^ "India's Sahara Group". thedailystar.com. 24 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  5. ^ বাঙ্গালীর বিত্ত সাধনা সাহারার ইতিকথা, (Bangalir Vitta Sadhana: Saharar Itikatha), Mani Shankar Mukherjee, 2003
  6. ^ "Subroto Roy Biography". mapsofindia.com. 23 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Subrata Roy". timesofindia.com. 10 July 2003. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2004.
  8. ^ "Sahara India". newagebd.com. 24 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Subrata Roy Sahara An incredible journey From Gorakhpur to Lucknow". Leader Biography. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Owner of Pune Warriors runs Sahara India Pariwar as managing worker". The Australian. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Sahara chief, money all safe and well". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  12. ^ "RBI eases pressure on Sahara, Peerless, Sugata Ghosh, TNN 18 May 2005". Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  13. ^ Rai, Manmohan (1 March 2014). "Subrata Roy, Sahara chief, has friends across political, glamour spectrum". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Sahara India launches 3 news weeklies PTI 11 May 2003". Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  15. ^ "Sale of Plaza Hotel had to happen". New York Post. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  16. ^ Thirani, Neha (August 2012). "Indian Conglomerate Buys New York's Plaza Hotel". India Ink. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Sahara India under PF Department's scanner; the company asked to submit all employee details, Vikas Dhoot, ET Bureau 12 Jan 2013". Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  18. ^ "Sahara's national anthem feat gets Guinness honour". The Times Of India. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Sahara's phantom investors: Why Subrata Roy's numbers don't add up – Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. March 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  20. ^ a b "Sahara's Subrata Roy is planning a comeback and high on his priority is online education". Firstpost. 21 October 2017. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Sahara eyes slice of online education sector". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  22. ^ "Subrata Roy's Sahara enters automobile sector; to offer wide range of EVs". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Subrata Roy's Sahara enters EV market: Sahara Evols to sell electric two, three-wheelers and cargo vehicles". The Financial Express. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  24. ^ "Sahara India Pariwar:: Overview | World's Largest Family".
  25. ^ Bandyopadhyay, Tamal (6 June 2014). Sahara: The Untold Story. Jaico Publishing House. p. 11. ISBN 978-81-8495-546-0. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Above The Law?". Outlook India. 30 August 1997. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  27. ^ "Subrata Roy Sahara surrenders before Police in Lucknow". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  28. ^ Roy, Subrata (28 February 2014). "Profile of Subrata Roy". Profile. BBC. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  29. ^ "Supreme Court again rejects Sahara chief Roy's bail plea". IN. Reuters Editorial. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  30. ^ "Sahara's Subrata Roy blames troubles on comment about Sonia Gandhi". 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  31. ^ "SC grants conditional bail to Sahara chief Subrata Roy". The Times of India. 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  32. ^ "Supreme Court again rejects Sahara chief Roy's bail plea". Reuters. 4 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  33. ^ "From Tihar jail, Sahara chief Subrata Roy tries to sell the New York Plaza". The Times of India. 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  34. ^ "SC extends Subrata Roy's interim bail till October 24". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  35. ^ Mittal, Priyanka (31 January 2019). "SC summons Subrata Roy over unpaid dues". Mint. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  36. ^ "Assets of Sahara exceed liabilities, says Subrata". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  37. ^ "'Sahara has repaid 95% investors'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  38. ^ "Subrata Roy Says Sahara Had to Make Double Payment For A Single Liability". Bloomberg Quint. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  39. ^ "Rahul attacks PM on Sahara issue latching on to ITSC order". Deccan Herald. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  40. ^ Suruchi, Pravrajya (5 April 2025). "This big fat Indian wedding cost more than Rs 500 crore 21 years ago, 11000 guests were invited, didn't take place in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru but…". DNA India. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  41. ^ The Associated Press (13 February 2004). "Asia: India: Mega-Wedding". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  42. ^ "Sahara group a victim of political vendetta: Subrata Roy". The Times of India. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  43. ^ "Sahara joins Uttarakhand relief work". The Times of India. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  44. ^ "Subrata Roy Sahara – ex PM Vajpayee thanks Sahara India Pariwar". YouTube. 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021.
  45. ^ Ankita (18 February 2019). "Sahara India Pariwar's Mumbai hotel joins hands with Feeding India as a CSR initiative". Cross Barriers. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  46. ^ Jacob, Jency (1 March 2014). "The quirks and eccentricities of 'Saharasri' Subrata Roy". Business Standard India. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  47. ^ Subrata Roy: Confident of swimming the troubled waters, AMRITA NAIR-GHASWALLA, 8 September 2012
  48. ^ Subrata Roy's 'Life Mantras' unveiled in over 5000 locations, 2 February 2016
  49. ^ "Saharasri Subrata Roy's 'Life Mantras' remains in top 5 for last 4 weeks in Bestseller Chart of Nielsen". @businessline. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  50. ^ "Think With Me". www.saharasribooks.in. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  51. ^ "Think with Me Book - An Assembly of Indian Socio-political Issues". blog.thevoiceofnation.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  52. ^ Prasannarajan, S (16 August 2011). "India Today Power List 2007: India's 50 most powerful people". India Today. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  53. ^ "Sushanto Roy and Swapna Roy no longer citizens of India?". Moneylife NEWS & VIEWS. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  54. ^ "HC seeks response from Centre on plea of Subrata Roy's wife against LOC". ETLegalWorld.com. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  55. ^ "Subrata Roy, founder of Sahara Group, dies at 75 after prolonged illness". India Today. 15 November 2023.
  56. ^ "Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy dies of cardiac arrest, Sahara India Pariwar mourns loss". Livemint. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  57. ^ "How Subrata Roy Started Sahara Group With Just Rs 2,000 And Built Business Empire: An Inspiring Story". India.com.
  58. ^ Pathikrit Chakraborty, Shailvee Sharda (17 November 2023). "Grandsons perform last rites as thousands bid adieu to Sahara group chief Subrata Roy". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  59. ^ "UK university confers honorary doctorate on Subrata Roy". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  60. ^ "Grand launch of Powerbrand". indianfoline.com. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  61. ^ "The Global Leadership Award". indianbillgates.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  62. ^ "The ITA Awards » The Indian Television Academy Awards". The Indian Television Academy. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  63. ^ "Mithila varsity confers D Litt on Subrata Roy". The Times of India. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  64. ^ Malik, Ashok (3 February 2003). "The high and mighty: 50 most powerful people in India". India Today. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  65. ^ "India Today High and Mighty power list 2012: Rank 7 to 12". India Today. 7 April 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  66. ^ Bad Boy Billionaires: India (Documentary, Biography, Crime), Nisha JamVwal, Aayush Ailawadi, 2 September 2020, retrieved 7 April 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  67. ^ Ohri, Raghav. "Netflix | Bad Boy Billionaires: Netflix to move SC against Bihar court order restraining use of Subrata Roy's name in 'Bad Boy Billionaires'". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
[edit]