The order comes after Samsung chairman moved the Supreme Court seeking to quash a criminal case and non-bailable warrants issued against him

The Supreme Court asked Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics to appear before a trial court at Ghaziabad in a cheating case.

A Bench of Justices CK Prasad and PC Ghose passed the order on an appeal filed by Lee challenging Allahabad High Court’s order dismissing his plea for setting aside non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him. The court, however, made it clear that it was not expressing any opinion on the merit of the case pending before the trial court.

“However, the warrant of arrest issued against the petitioner (Lee) shall not be executed for a period of six weeks from today (31^st March). In the meanwhile, the petitioner shall appear before the trial court in seisin (hearing) of the case and seek bail and/or exemption from appearance in accordance with law,” the Bench said.

JCE Consultancy, an Indian company in 2002 had filed a complaint against the South Korean consumer electronics company and its chairman for failing to pay Rs8.4 crore ($1.4 million).

Lee had then approached the High Court and the Supreme Court for quashing of first information report (FIR) against him but his plea was rejected by both the courts earlier.

The trial court, thereafter, issued arrest warrant against him for not appearing before it in the case.

With an estimated net worth of $12.6 billion, Lee Kun-hee and his family rank among the Forbes richest people in the world. He is the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull.

Lee Kun-hee had resigned in April 2008, owing to Samsung slush funds scandal, but returned on 24 March 2010. On 14 January 2008, Lee's home and office were raided by the Korean police for an ongoing probe into accusations that Samsung is responsible for a slush fund used to bribe influential prosecutors, judges, and political figures in South Korea.

The Seoul Central District Court found him guilty on charges of financial wrongdoing and tax evasion and fined him just 110 billion won (about $98 million) and sentenced him to 3 years suspended jail time.

Months later, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak gave Lee Kun-hee a second personal pardon so that he could remain on the International Olympic Committee.

According to Wikipedia, in 2010 the company's former chief legal counsel Kim Yong-chul published a book called Think Samsung. It revealed alleged shocking details of Lee Kun-hee's personal corruption, claiming that he stole up to 10 trillion won (about $8.9 billion) from Samsung subsidiaries, destroyed evidence, and bribed government officials to ensure the smooth transfer of power to his son.