The Supreme Court on July 1, 2016, directed real estate major Unitech Ltd, to deposit an amount of Rs 5 crores in its registry, for failing to hand over apartments in Noida to consumers, which was to be given three years ago.
A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan, also warned the developer to deposit the amount by August 12, failing which its directors may be sent to judicial custody.
The order came during the hearing of a plea filed by Unitech against the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission’s (NCDRC’s) October 12, 2015 order, which directed the firm to pay compensation and litigation costs, for delay in handing over three flats in its project Burgandy in Sector 96 of Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
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The apex consumer commission had also directed Unitech to hand over possession of the flats, booked by Diwakar Mishra and others, on or before October 31, 2017.
The complaint against Unitech
The complainants had moved the NCDRC, alleging that despite having paid more than 95% of the agreed sale consideration to the real-estate major, the possession of the flats had not been given and the construction was ‘still far from complete’.
Advocate Ashwarya Sinha, appearing for the consumers, said the builder had failed to hand over the possession of the apartment, which was due to be given on April 16, 2013. “The apartments are in Sector 96 of Noida, for which a payment of Rs 3.8 crore per flat for three flats, was already received by Unitech Ltd,” he said.
On May 9, the apex court had directed Unitech to deposit the amount by June 10, 2016 and said that “The amount so deposited, shall be kept in a short-term fixed deposit in the UCO Bank, Supreme Court Compound, New Delhi, so that interest can be accrued on the same.”
Later, the firm had moved an application seeking extension of time for depositing the amount.
