Home Buyers Get Relief As SC Cancels Amrapali’s RERA Registration, Asks NBCC to Take Over Its Pending Projects
[ By Bobby Anthony ]The Supreme Court cancelled the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) registration of the Amrapali Group, effectively banning the real estate company from undertaking any residential projects in the future, bringing relief to thousands of cheated home buyers.The court has ruled that the firm has played a fraud upon home buyers and siphoned off their money by diverting it...
The Supreme Court cancelled the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) registration of the Amrapali Group, effectively banning the real estate company from undertaking any residential projects in the future, bringing relief to thousands of cheated home buyers.
The court has ruled that the firm has played a fraud upon home buyers and siphoned off their money by diverting it to create personal assets for Amrapali’s CMD and directors, adding that the Noida and Greater Noida authorities were complicit.
The court held that these authorities cannot be allowed to receive their outstanding loan amounts to Amrapali from these home buyers, bringing relief to thousands of home buyers in Uttar Pradesh's Noida and Greater Noida.
According to the judgment, home buyers will pay only towards completion of their houses and they cannot be burdened with the loans Amrapali owed either to the authorities or the banks. It stated that house buyers can recover their dues only from the assets of Amrapali officials which stand attached under the orders of the court.
The court has also handed over all pending Amrapali projects to the National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) for completion.
Incidentally, as many as 42,000 flats are awaiting completion in various Amrapali Group projects.
Further, the court has ordered an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into the aspect of money laundering by the Amrapali Group’s promoters and asked the agency to submit periodic reports on the investigation.
The Supreme Court also expanded the ambit of petitions by the Amrapali home buyers and directed the central government to take stock of pending housing development projects across all states.
The court stated that authorities concerned must take action against lease holders wherever there have been inordinate and unexplained delay in completion of such projects as well as issue appropriate guidelines in this regard.
The court has fixed August 9 as the next date of hearing.