SC summons Jaypee directors on Nov 22

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL) for missing the deadline to deposit ₹2,000 crore for refunding money to homebuyers.

JAL is the parent company of Jaypee Infratech, which is facing insolvency proceedings for failing to pay back debt of financial creditors.

Irked with the company for not following the court order on making the payment, Chief Justice Dipak Misra’s bench directed JAL’S non-institutional directors to appear in court in person on November 22 and sought details of their personal assets.

The court asked advocate Pawan Sree Agrawal to assist it in the case and develop a web portal for homebuyers. The website will register the claims of all the flat buyers so that a consolidated figure of the amount Jay- pee Infratech owes to them can be placed before the SC.

JAL was directed on September 11 to deposit the amount with the court registry to protect the interests of homebuyers. On November 6, the company was refused permission to deposit ₹400 crore.

Its proposal to hive off the Noida expressway to raise the money had also been rejected.

During the brief hearing on Monday, JAL informed the court it had ₹593 crore with ICICI Bank and was ready with a cheque of ₹100 crore in a sealed envelope for depositing it with SC.

The company submitted it will require an order from the SC, asking the bank to release the amount it holds, a plea ICICI bank’s lawyer opposed. The counsel said ₹593 crore lying with the bank was meant for the benefit of the lenders of JAL. Also, it said the process of debt reconstruction of the company was going on and it would not be feasible to release the amount.