Delhi High Court asks Supertech to pay Rs 40 lakh to homebuyer by October end

The court was informed that the total amount due to the homebuyer was around Rs 1.78 crore, out of which Rs 50 lakh has been paid to him following the court’s order dated September 24.

The court directed the builder to first clear the principal amount of Rs 1.07 crore and place before it the payment plan.

“The petitioner is directed to pay another sum of Rs.40 lacs to the respondents on or before 31st October, 2021. The aforesaid amount shall be utilized by the respondents towards repayment of the home loan taken by them. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that a further sum of Rs 17 lacs shall be paid to the respondents on or before 30th November, 2021,” the High Court order said.

In terms of the last order, both the parties have filed their respective statement of accounts in terms of which the total amount due to the respondents from the petitioner is approximately Rs.1.78 crores, the order said.

“As ordered by this Court, Rs.50 lacs has been paid by the petitioner to the respondents,” the order said.

The matter has now been listed on November 11, 2021.

The court also directed the builder to file schedule of payment of remaining amount due to the buyer.

Delhi High Court on September 24 had directed Supertech to deposit Rs 50 lakh, out of the outstanding Rs 1.78 crore, in the homebuyer's account within a week to show its bona fide to the court and stayed an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) until October 4 that had sentenced Supertech's managing director Mohit Arora to a three-year imprisonment.

NCDRC had on September 20 also issued an arrest warrant against Arora for non-compliance of an order in a case filed by a homebuyer who had bought a villa in the builder’s Greater Noida project.

Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Supertech, had argued that the NCDRC order was beyond the provisions of section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act and there was no provision it which casts vicarious liability on the MD to make him liable in criminal or civil matter in case of default by the company.

The MD was sentenced without even conducting a trial, he said, adding “so the man goes to jail if the company does not comply with the order in seven days.”

The Commission had also issued an arrest warrant against Mohit Arora for not showing up in court and directed that its order shall come into effect after seven days if the builder failed to deposit Rs 1.78 crore by that time.

The Commission in its order had also said that in view of the non-compliance and dishonouring of his commitment, Arora was being sentenced to three years in jail under Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and an arrest warrant was being issued against him. It had said that the warrant would not be executed if the said amount was deposited within a week.

On August 31, the Supreme Court had ordered demolition of Supertech's 40-storey twin towers in Noida over grave violation of building norms.

On October 4, the Supreme Court dismissed Supertech's application to save one of the two 40-storey towers in its Emerald Court project in Noida, that were ordered to be razed over grave illegalities on August 31.