Supreme Court asks Supertech to refund buyers in Noida twin towers

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed builder Supertech to refund money to people who had decided to opt out of two 40-storey towers in Noida it was building after the Allahabad High Court had ordered their demolition for flouting building norms. It has also asked it to offer alternative apartments to those people who did not want a refund.

Many buyers in the two towers—Apex and Ceyane—had decided they did not want to continue in the project after the court order in April and demanded a refund from the builder. The High Court had also asked Supertech to refund of the consideration received from flat buyers with 14% interest compounded annually.

The Supreme Court has asked the builder to refund the principal amount within one month and pay the 14% interest on it by October 30.

"We had given options to buyers in the two towers to either take refund or move to another project. We will start the process now as per our previous commitment and according to the Supreme Court order," said RK Arora, managing director of Supertech.

Of the 857 apartments in the two towers, Apex and Ceyane, over 600 have been sold by Supertech since it launched them in 2009.

The case was filed in the Allahabad High Court in November 2012 by the existing residents of Emerald Court who were aggrieved that the two towers were sanctioned without maintaining the mandatory distance of 16 metres between the new towers and their building block, as required by the Noida Building Regulations and Directions of 2010, “making their block unsafe, apart from blocking light and air”.

When the court gave its order, the two towers were at an advanced stage—21 floors had been constructed in Apex and 17 in Ceyane.

Supertech had filed a petition in the Supreme Court after which the apex court had has stayed the demolition of the towers but restrained the company from selling any apartments in the two towers in Noida.