The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, mandated the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to initiate seven preliminary inquiries against prominent builders, including Supertech Limited, for allegedly defrauding homebuyers through a collusive nexus with banks across several major cities including NOIDA, Gurugram, and Mumbai.
A bench headed by Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh acted on an affidavit from the CBI that highlighted a prima facie connection between some of the country’s leading banks and real estate developers, affecting regions such as Yamuna Expressway, Greater Noida, Mohali, Kolkata, and Allahabad.
The Court’s directive came after it reviewed the findings of Advocate Rajiv Jain, serving as amicus curiae, who identified Supertech as the principal offender in schemes designed to deceive buyers. Jain reported that Corporation Bank alone had disbursed over Rs 2,700 crore under subvention schemes to builders, with Supertech securing loans totaling Rs 5,157.86 crore since 1998 for 21 projects across six cities.
In light of these revelations, the apex court has ordered the creation of a special investigation team (SIT) to delve deeper into these transactions. Directives were issued to the Director-Generals of Police in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to nominate personnel including DSPs and inspectors to this team.
Furthermore, the CEOs of the Greater Noida Authority, Noida Authority, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and the Reserve Bank of India, have been instructed to appoint nodal officers to aid the SIT.
The bench emphasized its commitment to monitor the progress of these investigations on a monthly basis, reflecting the grave nature of the allegations and the widespread impact on thousands of homebuyers.
Under the controversial subvention scheme, banks would pay up to 70% of the home loan directly to builders, who were then responsible for the loan’s EMIs until the flats were handed over to the buyers. However, numerous builders defaulted on these payments, prompting banks to demand EMIs directly from the homebuyers, despite their not having received possession of their homes.
