NEW DELHI: A new chapter could be inscribed in the annals of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in India, with a deal room being set up in Delhi's Tihar jail , if Sahara chief Subrata Roy 's lawyers get their way. The Supreme Court has allowed Roy, currently incarcerated at the facility, to leave the jail for a few hours every day as he tries to sell properties to raise the Rs 10,000 crore needed for his release.

But his lawyers said that won't be enough and moved the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking negotiation facilities at Tihar as Roy seeks to raise the amount set by the top court as a condition for his getting out of jail through sale, transfer or creating encumbrances over nine properties at home and another three abroad.An application to this effect was moved by senior advocate KTS Tulsi before a top court bench headed by Justice TS Thakur, signalling the entry of a new team of lawyers to represent Sahara and Roy."He has to deal with people in five different time zones. Some of the potential buyers and lenders want to meet before submitting their financials," Tulsi said. "These would be facilities outside the jail but within the complex."According to the application by Sahara, the "applicants... appeal to shift them from barrack no. 3 of Tihar jail to an out-house in the Tihar jail premises so that they can enter into effective and fruitful negotiations with prospective buyers, lenders for the sale, encumbrance of domestic and three overseas properties of the group companies". Thakur said the bench would hear the plea as early as Friday if the two other judges on the bench, Anil R Dave and AK Sikri, were available.He also directed solicitor general Ranjit Kumar to find out if such facilities were available within the Tihar complex and whether the prison authorities would make them available to Roy.Sahara has asked for facilities with a separate entrance so that prospective buyers and lenders are not exposed to the "glare of media, rival competitors and inmates and officials of Tihar jail".It has also sought "requisite confidentiality which is required in nondisclosure agreements" and "phones, laptops/computers, three secretarial staff 24 hours and office equipments for final-swing negotiations quickly".The top court has been insisting that Roy and two other Sahara directors, jailed on March 4 for their failure to pay dues up to Rs 24,000 crore to the Securities and Exchange Board of India as per an earlier court order, pay at leastRs 10,000 crore before they are released.Of this amount, Rs 5,000 crore has to be paid in cash and anotherRs 5,000 crore by way of a bank guarantee.Thursday's application came two days after the top court refused to free Roy on parole to enable him to hold negotiations with potential buyers and lenders to raise aboutRs 2,500 crore in cash apart from theRs 5,000 crore bank guarantee. Sahara had deposited Rs 3,118 crore soon after a court freeze on its bank accounts was lifted.The fresh application by Roy's lawyers did not seek his release but asked for office space and video-conferencing facilities to permit him to hold negotiations, said Tulsi, appearing for Sahara for the first time in the case.He was briefed by Gaurav Bhatia, additional advocate general of Uttar Pradesh and national president of the Samajwadi Party's legal wing, and advocate on record Gaurav Awasthi.Before this, Rajeev Dhavan used to appear for Roy and the two other incarcerated Sahara directors. But he returned the Sahara brief yesterday.Dhavan said that this was in no way a reflection on the court decision not to release Roy.There had been fireworks in court on July 22 when Dhavan criticised the judges for refusing to overturn an earlier order, passed summarily without any trial, sending Roy to jail."I have been in jail from March 4 till date. If that is not compelling enough, I am astonished," Dhavan said, much to the discomfiture of the new bench which was forced to clarify that it could not sit on appeal on another bench's decision.The new bench has been hearing the case since justice KS Radhakrishnan retired and justice JS Khehar recused himself from the case after writing a very strong judgement about the tactics being adopted by the Sahara legal team in court.The Sahara lawyers had accused the bench of bias and urged them to recuse themselves from the case, and instead refer a habeas corpus petition, filed by Roy, to another bench for a fresh hearing.The bench, which had passed the original order directing Sahara to pay Rs 24,000 crore to Sebi, had then rejected the plea.Explaining his decision to return the brief, Dhavan said, "I have the highest respect for the judiciary.I am also an officer of the court and not just my client's lawyer.I have always got a patient hearing from the court."He attributed his move to return the brief to the confusion prevailing in the Sahara legal team."It is all over the place, issuing press statements, without any consultations," Dhavan said."It is the judges' prerogative to decide a case. Sahara is entitled to hire any lawyer it wants, but the facts are incontrovertible."Roy's incarceration was against all principles of natural justice, Dhavan had argued, pointing out that the court had neither convicted him on contempt or for any other civil charge.