Sink or Die, But Pay Money Back to Home Buyers: SC to Supertech

The apex court has asked the real estate firm to clear the arrears to agitated home buyers in four weeks.

A Supertech apartments building in Vaishali. (Photo Courtesy: Supertech’s website)

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave a stern message to Supertech by ordering it to return money to investors, saying it was not concerned whether the real estate major “sinks or dies”– a direction which may soothe the ruffled feathers of hassled home buyers waiting endlessly for their dream homes.

Even if you (Supertech) sink or die, we are not concerned. You will have to pay the money back to the home buyers. We are least bothered about the financial status.

Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Adarsh Kumar Goel

The apex court directed Supertech to pay 10 percent per month of the invested amount from 5 January 2015 to 17 home buyers who are before the court, within four weeks.

It said the real estate firm has to clear the arrears to the home buyers in four weeks, which can be adjusted, and asked Supertech to furnish a chart of payments made to 17 of them on the next date of hearing.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for Supertech, said the apex court “cannot act like a banker” and has to follow the principle of equality.

“Not all home buyers are against us and some of them have even supported the firm and filed an appeal against the High Court order,” he said, adding, “there is a difference between Unitech’s case and us. They did not have a building, while we have a building and funds invested, which have been used for construction of structure.”

He said a total of 628 people had approached the company, of whom 274 have sought alternate arrangements, 74 have asked for re-investment and 108 have sought a refund.

To this, the bench asked why Supertech was not giving the money back to all the investors. Dhawan said there was a court order saying only those who have applied on time will get the money back and it was in the process of paying the money back to them. Counsels for home buyers refuted Supertech’s claim and said they were not getting the money on time.

The apex court also asked the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to submit its report by 25 October, after inspecting Supertech’s Emerald Towers to ascertain whether the two 40-storey buildings were built in green area in violation of the sanctioned plan. On 27 July, the court had asked the NBCC to visit the site of twin tower and submit a report on alleged violations.

The two towers have 857 apartments, of which about 600 flats have already been sold. The apex court had on 16 February last year directed Supertech to refund money to the flat owners, saying, “Developers can’t take investors for a ride.”