Compounding the woes of Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed all apartment and plot purchasers with all pending projects of Unitech to register their names, project, and total quantum invested in the housing project on a web portal, that will serve as a basis for the court to repay money to those who are keen to get their money back.
Chandra's lawyer senior advocate Salman Khurshid requested the Apex Court to consider releasing him on interim bail in order to arrange for the same. Amicus Curiae Pawanshree Aggarwal informed the court that till date he had collected names of about 4,000 buyers who have deposited close to Rs 1,800 crore with Unitech.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was boggled by the amount deposited and refused to consider grant of bail at this stage. However, to the proposal of having a web portal for registering names of all home, plot buyers along with the quantum of money due to them, the Bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, posted the matter for September 21 for Aggarwal to share the details of the web portal.
Once the portal is put in place, the Court directed flat and plot buyers to register their names with the project invested in and the amount paid till date. There will be separate category for buyers interested in reimbursement of their investment and possession of flats/plots.
Chandra's lawyer had brought a chart with a timeline extending from six months to one year where he was willing to undertake to hand over possession of flats. But association of homebuyers objected stating that for years their fervent pleas for possession of flats went unheard. Already, Chandra has deposited a sum of Rs 20 crore with the Supreme Court Registry following Court's order to show his bonafide to repay the money of homebuyers.