The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the conduct of a Gurugram trial court for allegedly issuing coercive orders, including bailable and non-bailable warrants, against homebuyers involved in cheque bounce cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act. The apex court said it would examine the matter, indicating that it had access to “a lot of information” regarding the functioning of the court.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh directed the district and sessions judge of the Gurugram court to look into the issue, particularly where homebuyers facing delayed possession of their flats are being subjected to such punitive measures in ongoing litigation.
“We are getting a lot of information about the Gurugram trial court. We will look into it and see what can be done,” the bench remarked during the hearing.
The observations came in response to a batch of petitions filed by over 1,200 homebuyers who had invested in various subvention-based housing projects across the NCR, particularly in Noida, Greater Noida, and Gurugram. The petitioners claimed they were being forced by banks to pay EMIs despite not having received possession of their flats.
Some of the homebuyers alleged through their counsels that the Gurugram trial court had been issuing warrants in cheque bounce cases even as the projects remained incomplete or mired in legal disputes. They argued that such actions were unjust and added to the harassment of already aggrieved buyers.
In a significant development, the apex court also granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register 22 regular cases to probe what it termed an “unholy nexus” between banks and real estate developers. The alleged collusion, according to the court, involved fraudulent practices targeting homebuyers and included the role of development authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The Supreme Court’s intervention is likely to bring relief to thousands of homebuyers caught in legal and financial limbo due to stalled housing projects and alleged malpractices in the real estate financing system.
The matter will be taken up for further hearing in due course.
