 "Homebuyers ready to bombard Jaypee Infratech with 4,000 lawsuits")
Over the next few months, the legal teams representing Jaypee Infratech seem likely to have their hands full. Distraught buyers of their yet-to-come-homes plan to bombard the developer with up to 4,000 individual civil and criminal cases.
After the Supreme Court (SC) stay on the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) order regarding insolvency proceeding against Jaypee, the buyers have developed a strategy which includes bigger and more vocal protests, meeting various ministers, sending letters to the prime minister’s office and filing of police complaints.
“The plan is to bombard them with multiple court cases, so that the developers remain engaged and tangled in legal hassles. They are a huge company but even for them to handle 4,000 individual cases would be a lot. There are home buyers who have already filed court cases over non-delivery of the promised property and cheating, among other charges. More are planning to do the same over the next few weeks,” said Pankaj Gupta, a buyer in Jaypee Wish Town’s Kensington Park Apartment project.
Many are also planning to file a new lot of police cases ('First Information Reports). “We will file FIRs for cheating and whatever else our lawyers advise. This is the only way to ensure we finally get some closure,” said Gautam Chatterjee, a buyer in Jaypee Wish Town's Kosmos project.
They are also trying to find ways for including Jaypee Associates Ltd in the court cases. “When we were sold the flats, it was via this company that the sale happened but it has now been kept out of the loop from any prosecution,” says Chatterjee. Another wave of protests is planned, as well as to approach the UP government — CM and other ministers. Beside appeals to the Centre.
Some doubt if the SC stay on insolvency pleas gives respite to the buyers. “They are in the same position that they were a month back. The status remains the same till the next hearing,” says Mukesh Mohan Gupta, president, Chamber of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Around 30,000 homebuyers of Jaypee and 40,000 for projects of Amrapali in the Noida and Greater Noida areas have immense anxiety over the NCLT issue.