Reply to proposal on auctioning three projects: SC to Unitech

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked for Unitech’s response to a proposal to auction its three projects that will generate a surplus amount of ₹1,000 crore after satisfying all the dues.

A bench led by chief justice Dipak Misra asked the realty firm’s counsel, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, to give his views on the proposal prepared by a realty consultancy firm. Advocate ML Lahoty, representing several homebuyers, placed the plan before the court and said Unitech can utilise the surplus amount to complete construction of its remaining projects.

Advocate Pawanshree Agrawal who is assisting the bench in the matter supported Lahoty’s plan. He submitted that some of the investors registered on the website prepared by him were keen to take possession of their flats. “If these projects get auctioned and are completed then the financial liability of the company will come down because then I shall then remove names of those owners from the list of consumers seeking refund,” he told the bench.

Kumar agreed to come back after obtaining instructions on March 5. The senior counsel’s request to let his client, Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra, be released on parole was declined by the court, which said it will consider his plea on the next date.

The court asked Chennaibased company — Omshakthy Agencies (Madras) Private Limited, which is negotiating a deal with Unitech to purchase land in the city for ₹400 crore, to deposit ₹90 crore by March 31 in the top court registry. A senior official of the company appeared before the court as per its January 29 direction and was initially asked to pay ₹150 crore by March 15. The officer replied that as per the agreement between his company and Unitech the entire amount of ₹400 crore is to be paid by June 2019.