SC seeks CBI roadmap to unravel builder-banks nexus duping homebuyers

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the CBI to submit a roadmap on how it plans to unravel the "builder-banks nexus" which has duped thousands of homebuyers in the NCR as it proposed to go into the root of the matter.
     A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said thousands of homebuyers were affected by the subvention scheme, where banks paid 60 to 70 per cent of the home loan amount to the builders without projects being completed within the stipulated time.
     Under the subvention scheme, banks disburse the sanctioned amount directly to the accounts of builders, who are then required to pay EMIs on the sanctioned loan amount until flats are handed over to homebuyers.      After builders started defaulting on EMIs to banks, as per the tripartite agreement, the banks sought EMIs from the homebuyers.
     "We hope that there is no mafia involved," the bench said.
     The court directed CBI counsel additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati to submit a proposal outlining the investigation and resources, manpower including financial experts it required.
     The bench also appointed advocate Rajiv Jain, as amicus curiae in the matter, saying he was a former Intelligence Bureau officer, and possessed the knowledge in dealing with such kinds of economic offences.
     "We don't want any reluctance on the part of the CBI. We want to go to the depth of it, to the ultimate extent. They will have a free hand," it added.
     The top court was hearing a batch of petition filed by several homebuyers, who booked flats under subvention plans in various housing projects in NCR region especially Noida, Greater Noida and Gurugram, alleging that they were being forced by banks to pay EMIs despite no possession of flats.
     Bhati offered to start with Greater Noida area of Uttar Pradesh in the NCR region, where most housing projects have mushroomed, given the enormous size of the investigation.
     The bench agreed with Bhati and said CBI could start with Greater Noida as a pilot project.
     "Something effective has to be done in a time bound manner as a large section of people are affected," the bench told Bhati.
     Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for a financial institution, said it had complied with the directions of the top court relating to the details of loan extended, among others.
     "I understand there are good apples as well as bad apples. My problem is that I was in the same basket," he said.
     The bench said it won't give a certificate to the bank that it was not involved but if nothing wrong has been done, then it does not need to fear.
     "We are only concerned with the kind of hobnobbing they have been doing with the builders and developers. We want to get to the depth of this nexus. Thousands of people are crying due to this. Your fault is that despite knowing there is little progress made in the project, you had disbursed 60 to 70 percent of the loan amount," it said.
     Justice Surya Kant referred to the number of cases relating to the real estate sector pending in the Supreme Court.
     Singhvi said before the court asks the CBI to investigate the issue, the court should hear the Reserve Bank of India.
     The bench said the RBI did not have the required expertise in dealing with these issues and therefore it had roped in the premier investigating agency.
     The bench told Bhati to submit a proposal in two weeks and asked the amicus to submit a brief note about the matter.
     On March 4, the top court sought the presence of counsel for the CBI to apprise it about the investigation which needs to be conducted.
     It said the CBI standing counsel had to be present for the purpose of constituting an SIT.
     "He may also have instructions as to why the CBI should not be asked to register a case and then proceed to investigate the nexus between the banks and the builders. Alternatively, the constitution of a SIT on its own will also be considered by this court," it had said.
     On November 5, last year the top court sought details from homebuyers, builders-cum-developers, and banks/financial institutions about the payment of installments of loan, total disbursal of loans, status of housing projects and other details.
     The bench said despite its repeated instructions of roughly 40 builders-cum-developers and roughly 30 banks or financial institutions, only nine institutions and five builders-cum-developers filed their compliance affidavits.
     "This blatant disregard and ignorance of the court's directions, coupled with their reluctance in appropriately assisting the Court, hints towards a possible collusion between the builders-cum-developers and the banks/financial institutions," it said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)