Supreme Court Asks Greater Noida Authority To Cooperate With Cheated Homebuyers In Reviving Dead Housing Project

The Supreme Court today(Tuesday) directed the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority to cooperate with homebuyers in reviving a housing project which was abandoned by the builder.

The Court asked the Authority to provide the details of the demand which the Authority would have raised in case the original builders had completed the project so thatthe proportional charges of each of the home buyers can be decided depending upon the size of the apartments they are taking.

The project got abandoned after the Cooperative Housing Society, which took the plot on lease from the Authority, failed to pay the lease dues despite taking money from home buyers. 

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that the Court is not happy that the Authority is not cooperating to revive the dead project. 

"We are not happy with the fact that the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (hereafter referred to as 'Authority') is not cooperating in the entire exercise of reviving a dead project where the home buyers have been cheated  by the builder who has vanished decades ago and some of the home buyers have joined together torevive the entire project in part and also other home buyers are coming in for revival of the remaining part of the Project," the Court observed.

Senior Advocate Ravindra Kumar, for the Authority, prayed for a week to provide the details of the demand so that the proportional charges of each home buyer could be decided depending upon the size of the apartment. 

The Society (Golf Course Sahankari Awas Samiti Ltd) had applied to the Authority for allotment of land, which was allotted in 2004 as Plot No. 7, Sector Pi-2, Greater Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar. It was alleged by the home buyers that the Society in connivance with financial institutions scammed the home buyers as after some time, no payment was made by the Society to the Authority. The home buyers had taken a loan from the respondent banks for the purpose of purchasing flats offered by the Society.

They first approached the Allahabad High Court in a writ petition seeking to quash an order issued by the Authority to terminate the lease deed in 2011. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against the Directors of the Housing Society.

The Allahabad High Court through an order dated May 17, 2016, refused to interfere with the order of the Authority cancelling the lease on grounds that there was no deposit of lease rent and other dues by the Housing Society. Against this, the home buyers approached the Supreme Court.

A group of 40 home buyers decided to join together to revive the entire project. It was argued by them they have been continuously in touch with the Authority requesting them to provide the details and also to find out the solution as to how they can go ahead with their aspirations of owning their apartments.

It has been submitted home buyers are also more than willing to pay their proportionate share of the charges due to the Authority. However, it has been contended that the Authority is not providing the details of the demand/solution nor is it cooperating with the home buyers.

Matter will be next heard on March 25.

The petitioners are represented by Sr Adv Meenakshi Arora,  Somesh Chandra Jha AOR, Adv.Akash Kishore and  Pyoli AOR

Case Details: RAVI PRAKASH SRIVASTAVA . & ORS. v. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH & ORS.|Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 9792/2017

Click Here To Read Order