The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 10 January, directed realtor Jaiprakash Associate Limited (JAL) to give details of its ongoing housing projects in the entire country while reiterating its direction that its directors shall not alienate their personal properties.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also directed amicus curie Pawan Shree Agrawal to set up a portal to take note of the grievances of the home buyers of JAL.
The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said it would decide at a later stage the application of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking its nod to file insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against the promoter company JAL.
The bench also considered the submission of senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing independent directors of JAL, that they be exempted from personal appearance before it on every date of hearing on account of their old age.
The bench, which exempted the independent directors from personal appearance, however reiterated its earlier direction that neither would they leave the country without its prior nod, nor would they alienate or create third party interests in their personal properties.
It said the interest of homebuyers was important and the JAL will have to deposit the money in pursuance of its earlier order.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and lawyer Anupam Lal Das, appearing for JAL, said they have sold several properties and were in the midst of loan restructuring.
They said JAL would be depositing Rs 125 crore more by 25 January as directed by the apex court on 15 December last year to safeguard the interests of hassled homebuyers.
JAL has deposited Rs 425 crore with the apex court registry so far.
Earlier, the top court had restrained 13 directors – five promoters and eight independent directors – from alienating their personal properties as well as that of their immediate family members.
The apex court’s direction that the directors shall not alienate their or their family members’ personal properties in any manner implies freezing of their assets.
The SC, on 13 November last year, had also restrained the managing director and the directors of Jaypee Infratech Ltd from travelling abroad without prior permission.
The court had asked Jaypee Infratech to hand over the records to the interim resolution professional (IRP) to draft a resolution plan indicating protection of interests of over 32,000 hassled home buyers and creditors.
Homebuyers including one Chitra Sharma, through lawyer Aishwarya Sinha, had moved the apex court saying around 32,000 people had booked their flats and were now paying instalments.
The top court had on 4 September 2017, stayed the insolvency proceedings against the real estate firm before the NCLT.
Flat buyers, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 2016, do not fall in the category of secured creditors like banks and hence can get back their money only if something is left after repaying the secured and operational creditors, Sharma, in her plea, said.
Hundreds of home buyers have been left in the lurch after the NCLT, on 10 August 2017, admitted the IDBI Bank's plea to initiate insolvency proceedings against the debt-ridden realty company for defaulting on a Rs 526 crore loan, the plea said.
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