Unitech assets may be auctioned to refund homebuyers, says Supreme Court
Supreme Court asks Unitech to furnish a list of its unencumbered assets in India and abroad , including details of personal assets of the company's promoters
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will consider auctioning embattled real estate firm Unitech Ltd’s unencumbered properties to raise money to refund homebuyers.
Towards this end, the court has asked the real estate firm to furnish a complete list of its unencumbered assets in India and abroad. This will also include details of personal assets of the company’s promoters. On 5 March, the court had asked the company to submit an affidavit with complete details of assets, for which the company sought more time on Monday. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also imposed a cost of Rs25 lakh on JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company, which had taken over some loans advanced by HDFC Bank to Unitech, for giving the court the wrong impression that it would pay the money for refunding homebuyers.
At the last hearing, Unitech had claimed that JM Financial ARC was willing to finance its housing projects and the court had accordingly asked its managing director or a competent officer to be personally present in court on the next date. Unitech’s co-developer Pioneer Urban Land and Infrastructure Ltd was also asked to deposit a total of Rs40 crore in two instalments (Rs30 crore and Rs10 crore) by 10 April for development of its Gurgaon-based housing projects.
On 29 January, Unitech had informed the court that it had finalized a Rs400 crore deal for the sale of two land parcels in Chennai that would enable it to complete unfinished projects and refund buyers.
In this regard, Omshakthy Agencies (Madras) Pvt. Ltd has been asked to deposit Rs90 crore for the sale of land in Chennai by 31 March. Unitech had told the court in October that it would like to monetize its unencumbered properties and other assets to recover money that would be used for the process of refunding buyers and completing projects that are stuck. The next date of hearing is 26 March.
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