Supreme Court Orders CBI Probe Into Builder-Bank Nexus In Delhi-NCR, Mumbai

Cracking down on delays in the construction and handover of residences, the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe into an "unholy nexus" between builders and banks in projects in Delhi, the National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Chandigarh, Mohali and Kolkata. 

During a hearing on Tuesday, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, directed the CBI to register seven preliminary enquiries (PE) and set up a special investigation team (SIT). The directors general of police (DGPs), who are the top-ranking police officers, of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have also been asked to provide police officers to the CBI to aid in the investigation. 

One of the companies against which a PE will be registered is Supertech. The Supreme Court, which will monitor the case and hear it every month, has ordered a preliminary investigation into projects located in Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway, Gurugram and Ghaziabad in Delhi-NCR. 

An investigation will also be carried out on other builders who have projects in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Mohali and Kolkata, and the CBI has been asked to submit an interim status report. 

EMIs Deducted

The Supreme Court noted that there are banks/non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) on the one hand and builders on the other and there is a "nexus" between them. Homebuyers' EMIs, it observed, are being deducted on schedule without possession being provided. 

The bench noted Supertech has more than 21 projects in six cities, involving 19 financial institutions. A report by the amicus curiae, who is assisting the court in the case, said the "nexus" between Supertech and eight banks should be investigated on a priority basis and three others could be done at a later date. 

Dictating its order, the court said the cases involve over 1,200 houses and the cluster of over 170 petitions has raised a very important issue - that there is a failure by authorities to discharge their functions

Builders, it noted, advertised schemes assuring that homebuyers would be given residences by a specified date and they began paying EMIs/pre-EMIs accordingly. Loans were mostly issued through tripartite agreements between banks, homebuyers and builders/developers. 

While these projects were launched between 2013 and 2015, most builders/developers started defaulting in 2018-19. Banks started demanding payments from homebuyers despite the fact that the units were incomplete, and coercive action was taken, the bench noted.