The Supreme Court of India upheld an Allahabad High Court order directing the demolition of Supertech's twin 40-storey towers of their Emerald Court residential project in Noida for violating building by-laws.
The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah ordered the demolition to be carried out within three months and under the supervision of NOIDA authority, LiveLaw reported.
The order also stated that the building company will be required to reimburse all amounts, with a 12% interest per annum, to all buyers within a period of two months, according to the LiveLaw report. Further, Supertech will be required to pay Rs 2 crore to the resident welfare association.
The bench observed that the Noida authority, in infringement of rules, had given permission to Supertech to construct two additional 40-floor towers, news agency IANS reported.
The court also noted that the consent of individual flat owners was required prior to the construction of the twin towers, as per the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act. However, the law had been sidestepped by the colluding authorities.
The Supreme Court stated that the case is "replete with instances which show collusion of Noida authority with the builder" in contravening building norms.
"Collusion is writ large" the apex court noted, LiveLaw reported.
Earlier this month, the top court had censured the Noida Authority for its "shocking exercise of power" in sanctioning two residential towers of the real estate developer in a green area. The Supreme Court had also noted that the authority had blocked the Right to Information (RTI) applications from homebuyers about the building plans, as per the IANS report.
(With inputs from LiveLaw and IANS.)
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