‘Will Render You Homeless, If You Play Smart’: SC Tells Amrapali

The apex court directed the company to furnish details on how it intends to arrange Rs 5,112 crore. Representative image of the proposed Amrapali Township.

(Photo Courtesy: www.amrapali.net.in)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 8 August, asked the Directors of the Amrapali Group to file details of all their movable and immovable assets along with valuation, and warned them that they would be rendered homeless if they tried "to play smart."

A bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice UU Lalit clarified that all the properties of the directors would be sold if the company failed to raise Rs 5,112 crore required to complete its unfinished housing projects.

The apex court directed the company to furnish details on how it intends to arrange Rs 5,112 crore.

The company directors were asked to file affidavits within 15 days of listing their movable and immovable properties.

When the company's counsel Gaurav Bhatia told the court that home-buyers will also pay to help it raise Rs 5,112 crore, the court said: "The home-buyers will not pay a penny."

Don’t burden the home-buyers. Don’t try to be smart. Tell your Directors also. Tell us how you intend to arrange the money? Otherwise, you will be rendered homeless.

SC Bench

The court told the directors that as they had made buyers wait for their homes, they will also search for their homes if they don't submit the plan to arrange for money for the unfinished projects.

“Days are not away when you (Directors) will compel us to do this. If necessary, we will take every strip (of land) if you compel us. Next time, come (to the court) with the proposal,” the top court observed.

When the court was told that electricity supply at two projects of Amrapali – Zodiac and Silicon Valley – has been disconnected, it ordered the power companies concerned to restore electricity by Wednesday itself.

The court posted the matter for 14 August.

On 1 August, the court slammed the Amrapali Group for playing “fraud and dirty games” with it and ordered freezing of bank accounts of all the Directors of its 40 firms, besides attaching their personal properties.

Public sector undertaking National Building Construction Corporation was also directed to take over all 16 unfinished projects of the Amrapali Group.

The real estate group is yet to hand over possession of flats to around 40,000 home-buyers.

The apex court has been hearing a batch of pleas filed by home-buyers who have sought quashing of the National Company Law Tribunal order to admit insolvency proceedings against the Amrapali Group.

The buyers belong to low and middle income groups and must be granted equal protection as other stakeholders, the financial and operational creditors, the home buyers' plea said.