SC to pronounce verdict on Tuesday in Amrapali Case

The apex court reserved the verdict in the matter on May 10 after Noida and Greater Noida authorities said they don’t have the resources and expertise to construct the stalled projects of Amrapali Group.
The Supreme Court will pronounce verdict on Tuesday as to who would complete the stalled projects of embattled real estate major Amrapali Group to give respite to over 42,000 hassled home buyers. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra will pronounce the verdict in the case. The apex court reserved the verdict in the matter on May 10 after Noida and Greater Noida authorities said they don’t have the resources & expertise to construct the stalled projects of Amrapali Group. Read also : Sec 66A scrapped: SC verdict doesn’t mean free-for-all in cyber space
Both the authorities had favoured handing over the properties to a reputed builder under the supervision of a high powered committee. The authorities had expressed inability to take any action like cancellation of lease agreements against the group, which regularly defaulted on payments, due to “bulk of home buyers” & “political weight”. Read also : Uber Rape Case: SC summons trial court record
Both the authorities told the apex court that they have outstanding of around ?5,000 crore from Amrapali towards the principal amount & interest component, besides the penal interest. The top court on May 8 said that it may give ownership rights of all the 15 prime residential properties of Amrapali to Noida & Greater Noida Authorities as it has failed to fulfil its obligations towards 42,000 home buyers. Read also : National Judicial Appointments Commission rollout may take months
The bench had then reserved its verdict on the question as to who will take over the management control & which builder or developer should finish the stalled projects of Amrapali. The court had asked Noida authority to explain what action it has taken against Amrapali Group which was a “chronic defaulter” in payment of lease amount. Read also : Govt. will approach Supreme Court over NGT gag order: Gadkari
Noida authority said that under their jurisdiction they have seven projects of Amrapali & they have an outstanding of nearly ?2,000 crore while they had received only ?505 crore. It had conceded that besides issuing repetitive show cause notices to Amrapali Group for defaulting in payments to Noida, they have not done anything. Read also : Justice Dave recuse himself from hearing petitions challenging NJAC Act (Update-Supreme Court)
Similar stand was taken by Greater Noida authority which had said that Amrapali Group has five projects under its jurisdiction out of which four are vacant lands & no construction has taken place. Greater Noida authority had said that Amrapali has an outstanding of around 3400 crores & has paid only ?363 crores till now. Read also : Free speech not an excuse for abusing nationally revered figures, says SC
After the reluctance shown by Noida & Greater Noida, the top court had indicated that the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) Limited could be one of the option to complete the stalled projects. The court appointed forensic auditors — Pawan Aggarwal & Ravinder Bhatia — have found wide scale irregularities in the financial affairs of Amrapali Group & their initial report has suggested that over ?3,000 crore of home buyers money. On May 8, the apex court had said that it would throw Amrapali out from its properties & transfer its lock, stock & barrel to Noida & Greater Noida. On February 28, the apex court had allowed the Delhi police to arrest Amrapali group CMD Anil Sharma & two directors on a complaint that home-buyers of their various housing projects were cheated & duped of their funds. The top court, which is seized of several pleas of home-buyers seeking possession of around 42,000 flats booked in projects of the Amrapali group, also ordered attachment of personal properties of the CMD as also its directors — Shiv Priya & Ajay Kumar.