The bench, headed by Justice Chandrachud, had heard the contempt pleas of the homebuyers of the twin towers. The buyers alleged that when they approached the realtor to collect their amount, they were told that the money would be paid to them in instalments along with certain deductions.
The Supreme Court on August 31, 2021, while hearing a Civil Application in the case of collusion between Noida’s Officials and real estate developer, Supertech had ordered the demolition of Supertech’s Twin Towers, namely, Apex and Ceyane, within 3 months. The court had noted that illegal construction has to be dealt with strictly to ensure compliance with the rule of law. Furthermore, the court exercising its power under Article 142 of the Constitution had ordered that the entire amount be refunded to the homebuyers with 12% interest from the date of booking.
While exercising its contempt jurisdiction, the bench comprising of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Bela M Trivedi noted that “The refund which is due and payable arises from the final judgment of this Court. At this stage, when the Court is exercising its contempt jurisdiction, it would be necessary to provide a solution which is consistent with the directions contained in the main judgment to effect refund of the amounts which were paid by the home buyers, together with interest.”
Refund money by February 28, 2022: After five months of the Judgement, the Supreme Court on January 21 while hearing a batch of Contempt Petitions filed by the home buyers has ordered Supertech to refund all the money that has been collected by it for its twin towers in Noida’s Emerald Court Project by February 28, 2022. The order came after the homebuyers alleged inaction on the part of Supertech to comply with the Court’s order dated August 31, 2021.
Advocate Gaurav Agarwal appointed amicus curie for sum payable: Moreover, in order to reconcile the differences in amounts to be refunded as per Supertech and the petitioners and to obviate any further disputes, the court had appointed Advocate Gaurav Agarwal as amicus curiae to work out a sum payable to the petitioners after deducting the ROI already paid by Supertech which had then been accepted by the court in this order.
Computation of payment: The court noted, “In the circumstances, the developer – Supertech Ltd – shall refund the amounts which are due and payable in terms of the computation prepared by the amicus curiae, on or before 28 February 2022.” The Court further noted that the modalities towards the payment have been agreed to be sorted out at a meeting which shall be convened between the amicus curiae, petitioners, and the representatives of Supertech.
Deadline for refund applicable accross homebuyers: It was further noted by the Court that the deadline for refund applies uniformly to all the homebuyers and not just the contempt petitioners. It was noted that “the home buyers who are entitled to receive the compensatory payment in terms of the judgment of this Court, together with refund, should not be compelled to move contempt petitions.” However, it was also clarified by the court that any payments made towards the refund shall be considered while the repayment of the balance amount to the homebuyers.
It is also interesting to note that out of 633 homebuyers 252 are still awaiting refunds after the Court ordered the demolition of the buildings.
Execute contract for demolition: Apart from Supertech’s inaction in initiating refunds to the homebuyers, the firm has not complied with the Court’s order to demolish the buildings as well. The matter of demolition has been taken up by the court in different proceedings..The top court on January 17 directed Supertech to execute a contract within a week with Edifice Engineering for the demolition of the 40-storey twin towers located in Noida after the Noida Authority informed the apex court that it has selected the company to raze the structures.
HON’BLE MR JUSTICE D Y CHANDRACHUD
Judge, Supreme Court of India
HON’BLE MS JUSTICE BELA M. TRIVEDI
Judge, Supreme Court of India
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