New Delhi, Feb 5 (PTI) Coming to the rescue of thousands of hassled homebuyers waiting for the delivery of their dream homes for almost two decades, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an NCLAT order asking the State-owned NBCC to complete 16 housing projects of debt-ridden realty firm Supertech Limited expeditiously.
The court also restrained all the tribunals and high courts from passing any order that may lead to the stalling of the construction work to be completed by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) Limited.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi used its extra-ordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to uphold the December 12, 2024 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), asking the NBCC to take over the projects in the interest of the homebuyers.
The bench noted that Supertech, according to many homebuyers, had booked around 51,000 houses for delivery during 2010-12. The CJI said the first and foremost consideration for the bench was to “protect the interest of homebuyers to ensure that they are able to secure the homes for which they are waiting for the last two decades” and their hard-earned money has allegedly been siphoned off by the real estate firm.
The CJI made it clear that the interest and dues of the financial and operational creditors of Supertech can be taken care of only after the delivery of fully-furnished houses to the hassled homebuyers.
The bench also made it clear that the houses must contain all the assured facilities like water, electricity, sewage connections, besides roads and parks in the neighbourhood.
It said the financial and operational creditors of Supertech will have to take the hair cut as found just and equitable by the tribunals — the NCLT and the NCLAT.
“We find that the order passed by the NCLAT on December 12, 2024, in bringing the NBCC on record for the completion of the pending housing projects is neither unfair nor contrary to the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC),” the bench ordered while taking the recourse of Article 142.
Article 142 grants the Supreme Court plenary power to pass any decree or order necessary for doing “complete justice” in any case.
The bench directed the NBCC to undertake the projects and complete those expeditiously as envisaged by an expert committee set up by the NCLAT.
It also directed the committee to provide support to the NBCC in the completion of the projects.
“With an aim to ensure that no impediment is caused to the completion of the stalled projects, we direct that no tribunals and high courts shall pass any interim directions that may lead to the stopping of the projects undertaken by the NBCC,” the bench said.
Disposing of the pleas, it also allowed the parties to approach the apex court in view of any development that may come in the way of the ongoing projects.
On February 21, 2025, the top court stayed an order appointing the NBCC as the project management consultant to complete the 16 projects of Supertech at a cost of nearly Rs 9,500 crore.
It had said it would examine whether the NCLAT had followed the procedure under the IBC while appointing the NBCC as the project management consultant.
The NCLAT, on December 12, 2024, asked the NBCC, a public sector undertaking (PSU) under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to complete the 16 housing projects, comprising 49,748 homes in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Karnataka.
Around 27,000 homebuyers await receiving houses in these projects.
The NCLAT judgment came after the October 1, 2014 order of the top court that allowed the insolvency appellate tribunal to examine and decide a proposal of the NBCC seeking to complete the stalled projects.
The NCLAT had directed the NBCC to “start the process of award of work before March 31, 2025” and ensure the awarding of the contract within a month thereafter. It was also ordered that the construction work for the 16 projects shall start from May 1, 2025.
It had ordered the “constitution of an apex court committee and project-wise court committee” for each project.
The NBCC was asked by the NCLAT to nominate a member to each project-wise court committee.
The NBCC had sought to complete the projects, launched in the National Capital Region (NCR), Dehradun and Bengaluru, but the completion of the residential units took a hit owing to a financial crisis faced by the realty major, leading to insolvency proceedings beginning 2021.
The NBCC had submitted the terms of reference for undertaking the pending projects of Supertech before the NCLAT.
The PSU had proposed to complete the 16 projects in three phases.
Under Phase 1, it had proposed to complete Eco-Village-2 (Greater Noida), Romano (Noida), Capetown (Noida), Czar suites (Greater Noida), Eco-village-3 (Greater Noida), Sports Village (Greater Noida) and Eco-citi (Noida).
Under Phase 2, the NBCC, according to its application before the NCLAT, had proposed to undertake Northeye (Noida), Upcountry (Yamuna Expressway), Eco-village-1 (Greater Noida), Meerut Sports City (Meerut) and Green Village (Meerut).
For Phase 3, the NBCC had proposed to undertake Hilltown (Gurugram), Aravile (Gurugram), Rivercrest (Rudrapur), Doon Square (Dehradun) and Micasa (Bengaluru).
The Union Bank of India initiated insolvency proceedings against Supertech under section 7 of the IBC on March 20, 2021, claiming more than Rs 431 crore as on January 31, 2021, along with the accrued interest.