In a respite for homebuyers who have invested in housing projects of Unitech, the Supreme Court on Friday told the firm's jailed promoter Sanjay Chandra that all demands for return of the invested money must be complete by March next year.
To facilitate reimbursement, the Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra directed the counsel for Unitech to sit with amicus curiae Pawan Agarwal and draw the list of affected consumers across all its housing projects and their individual entitlements. While on one hand, the homebuyers demanded return of their hard-earned money, Chandra's counsel pleaded for his release on interim bail in order to arrange the remaining payments to be disbursed. Already, Chandra has invested with the Supreme Court Registry a sum of Rs 20 crore in two installments that will be used to repay the affected consumers.
The Bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, assured Chandra's counsel that when the list is prepared and presented to the Court next Friday, it will favourably consider granting interim bail. However, it insisted at the same time that the demands of all buyers must be settled by March 2018. Chandra and his brother Ajay are both facing arrest on a complaint by a group of Unitech homebuyers who alleged forgery and cheating for the firm's failure to deliver possession of its Gurugram-based housing project.
On August 11, the Delhi High Court refused them interim bail and directed them to file a status report. Five buyers of the Unitech's Anthea Floors Wildflower Country project led by some Delhi residents had filed a complaint for registration of FIR against the company in 2015. later, 90 more complaints were received against the firm for the same project.