Supreme Court orders NBCC to complete Supertech homes, ends 20-year wait for homebuyers

Supreme Court of India

• Supreme Court orders NBCC to complete 16 stalled Supertech housing projects
• Tribunals barred from issuing orders that could halt NBCC's construction work
• Homebuyers' interests prioritized; possession to be given before creditors paid

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In a major relief for thousands of homebuyers who have been waiting for their homes for nearly two decades, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) directing state-run NBCC Limited to complete 16 stalled housing projects of debt-ridden real estate firm Supertech Limited.

The top court also restrained all tribunals and high courts from passing any interim orders that could stall construction work being carried out by NBCC, news agency PTI reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi invoked the court’s extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to uphold the NCLAT’s December 12, 2024 order, which brought NBCC on record to complete the projects in the interest of homebuyers.

The bench noted that Supertech had booked around 51,000 homes during 2010–12, and said the court’s primary concern was to protect buyers who had been waiting for their homes for almost two decades. The CJI observed that the court’s first priority was to “protect the interest of homebuyers to ensure that they are able to secure the homes for which they are waiting for the last two decades”, adding that their hard-earned money had allegedly been siphoned off by the developer.

The court made it clear that the dues of financial and operational creditors would be addressed only after fully finished homes are handed over to buyers. It also directed that the houses must include all promised amenities such as water supply, electricity, sewage connections, roads and parks.

The bench further said that Supertech’s creditors would have to accept a haircut as deemed “just and equitable” by the insolvency tribunals, the NCLT and the NCLAT.

“We find that the order passed by the NCLAT on December 12, 2024, in bringing the NBCC on record for the completion of the pending housing projects is neither unfair nor contrary to the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC),” the bench said while invoking Article 142, which empowers the Supreme Court to pass orders to do “complete justice”.

Directing NBCC to complete the projects expeditiously as per an expert committee’s roadmap, the court also asked the committee to extend full support to NBCC. To ensure smooth execution, the bench said, “no tribunals and high courts shall pass any interim directions that may lead to the stopping of the projects undertaken by the NBCC.”

The court disposed of the pleas while allowing parties to approach it again if any development hampers the execution of the projects.

Earlier, on February 21, 2025, the Supreme Court had stayed the appointment of NBCC as project management consultant to examine whether the NCLAT had followed proper procedures under the IBC. That stay now stands lifted.

The NCLAT had directed NBCC, a PSU under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to complete 16 projects comprising nearly 49,748 homes across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Karnataka, with around 27,000 homebuyers awaiting possession.

Construction work is scheduled to begin from May 1, 2025, with contracts to be awarded by April. The projects will be executed in three phases, covering developments in the NCR, Dehradun and Bengaluru.

Supertech has been undergoing insolvency proceedings since 2021, after Union Bank of India moved the NCLT under the IBC, claiming over Rs 431 crore in dues.