SC to Supertech: Deposit ₹1 crore for refund to buyers in Noida twin towers

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud was informed that Hitesh Goel, the resolution professional for Supertech had so far deposited a sum of ₹2 crore towards the total dues of ₹7.04 crore payable to 15 homebuyers

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Supertech group to deposit ₹1 crore towards refund of dues worth over ₹7 crore to 15 homebuyers of the Emerald Court twin towers that were demolished in October. These homebuyers had filed contempt petitions in the Supreme Court against the owner of Supertech, RK Arora.

The top court had on August 31 last year directed the 32-storey towers to be demolished and the affected homebuyers who had invested in these under-construction flats to get full refund with 12% interest. (HT Archive)

Dealing with contempt petitions filed by homebuyers against Supertech, which is currently facing insolvency proceedings, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud was informed that Hitesh Goel, the resolution professional for Supertech had so far deposited a sum of ₹2 crore towards the total dues of ₹7.04 crore payable to 15 homebuyers.

Assisting the court, amicus curiae Gaurav Agarwal urged the court to direct Supertech to deposit ₹1 crore more by January 31. He said on December 8, the company deposited a sum of ₹1 crore with Supreme Court Registry that needs to be distributed pro rate among the 15 flatbuyers.

The bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and Dipankar Dutta said, “On December 8, another ₹1 crore has been deposited with Registry which will be distributed to the 15 homebuyers. Additional amount of ₹1 crore be deposited by resolution professional of Supertech by January 31. This amount also to be distributed among homebuyers no pro rata basis.”

The top court had on August 31 last year directed the 32-storey towers to be demolished and the affected homebuyers who had invested in these under-construction flats to get full refund with 12% interest.

As per a timeline drawn by Agarwal and IRP Hitesh Goel, it was agreed that to settle refund claims in full, Supertech required to set apart almost ₹40 crore. However, the bench desired that certain amount be released by Supertech at timely interval to ensure the homebuyers get some relief.

The demolition of the towers was first ordered by the Allahabad high court in 2014 on a petition filed by Supertech Emerald Court Apartment Owners’ Association. The top court had upheld the HC order finding it to be illegal as the same was constructed on a green area shown to the residents while purchasing flats. Further, the distance between the two towers was in violation of the minimum distance rule prescribed by the National Building Code, 2005.

Of the 633 persons who booked flats in the twin towers, about 248 homebuyers took an early refund while 133 took flats in other Supertech projects, leaving only 252 homebuyers who awaited the final outcome of the case by the top court.