Noida court bans protesters within 100m of Jaypee office

The order was issued ex parte: neither JREAWS nor individual buyers were present or had filed objections

Homebuyers who have spent more than a decade awaiting possession of Jaypee Infratech (JIL) flats now face new limits on their agitation as a local civil court has barred demonstrations within 100 metres of the developer’s Sector 128 office, siding—at least temporarily—with JIL’s new owner, the Suraksha Group. 

The court declined JIL’s request for a 500-metre buffer no-protest zone. (Sunil Ghosh?HT Photo)

Civil judge (junior division) Mayank Tripathi passed the interim injunction on Friday while hearing a civil suit filed on May 15 against the JIL Real Estate Allottees Welfare Society (JREAWS) and “unknown protestors”. The judge limited the no-protest zone to 100 metres, observing that JIL had failed to show ownership or control over a 500-metre perimeter it had sought.

The order was issued ex parte: neither JREAWS nor individual buyers were present or had filed objections. The next hearing is fixed for July 15.

JIL, in its petition, accused protestors of “blocking ingress and egress, shouting defamatory slogans and threatening employees”, particularly during an April 10 demonstration that drew more than 125 buyers. It contended another protest was planned for May 17.

JREAWS president Ashish Mohan Gupta rejected the claim, telling Hindustan Times: “No protest was even planned for May 17. The notice was served late evening, and the matter was taken up the next morning—buyers had no time to respond.”

Calling the suit “an attempt to silence us”, Gupta said protesters were “only demanding the homes they paid for”, adding that over 17,000 buyers have awaited possession since 2010-11, with original delivery dates of 2014-15.

Suraksha Group CEO Abhijit Gohil said, “We are working as per the terms of the resolution process. We are looking into their issues properly,” adding that more than 3,000 workers have been deployed and manpower is being ramped up.

JREAWS said it will move to vacate the injunction at the July hearing and may seek relief from higher courts if necessary.