SC asks banks not to impose penalty on EMI default by Amrapali home buyers

It said the liability of home buyers would come into effect from the date when possession of the flat is handed over, and banks can take action if they do not discharge their liability

In a relief to over thousands of home buyers of Amrapali Group of Companies who have booked their flats under the subvention scheme, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the banks that their accounts shall not be treated as Non-Performing Assets Accounts and no penalties shall be charged from them for default of EMI payment

The top court said that the banks will be liable for the principal amount and the interest over it.

A Subvention Scheme in the present case is a legal agreement made between the home buyer, the developer Amrapali Group of Companies, and the banks providing the home loan.

 

Under the scheme, the buyer did not have to pay any amount in the form of EMI during the No EMI period till the completion and possession given to the home buyer.

Around 10, 000 home buyers have availed the subvention scheme but due to the acts of omission and commission on behalf of Amrapali Group of Companies, they were saddled with the liability of paying the EMI towards the loan without even getting the passion of their flat.

A bench of Justices UU Lalit and Bela M Trivedi said, Considering the facts and circumstances on record, in our view, the interest of the flat buyers would be subserved if the accounts of defaulter flat buyers who have availed the subvention facilities shall not be treated as 'NPA account', nor shall their CIBIL score are maintained as zero level.

It said that no banks shall impose a penalty for default committed by the flat buyers and added that the banks shall however be entitled to the principal as well as interest over it.

It added that the liability of home buyers shall arise from the date when possession is handed over and they shall discharge their liability at that time else banks can take appropriate action.

The top court said that as and when individual buyers will approach their respective lender Banks, their accounts will be regularised and any balance payment will be disbursed by the Banks towards a court-monitored account.

The bench in its detailed order noted the difficulties faced by the home buyers but said that once the possession of the flat is given to the respective flat buyer, he shall be liable to pay the EMI towards the loan as per the agreement.

The bench also noted the concern of home buyers pointed out by advocate ML Lahoty and advocate Anchit Sripat that an extended portion of a flat in the Zodiac project has fallen two days ago.

The bench said that the project was constructed by an earlier builder but NBCC which is overseeing the construction of the stalled project will look into the issue and ensure that it does not happen again.

The top court also noted the submission that appropriate documentation between the consortium of banks and Greater Noida authority has been completed and around Rs, 1350 crore will be infused for the construction of stalled projects of Amrapali Group.

On April 4, the top court was informed that a consortium of seven banks have granted final approval to infuse Rs 1,500 crore out of which Rs 150 has been directly paid to National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC).

On March 28, the top court had directed the Bank of Baroda-led consortium to effectuate disbursal of Rs 1,500 crore for the construction of stalled real estate projects of Amrapali Group. It had noted that six banks -- Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Punjab and Sindh Bank, and UCO Bank -- have granted in-principle approval for the disbursal of funds, while Indian Bank was about to give the final approval.

On March 21, the top court had said its number one priority is to ensure that every Amrapali home buyer gets a flat.

The top court was told by the court receiver that initially they had issued a list of around 8,000 flats that were not claimed by any buyer or which were booked under bogus names or were undervalued.

On February 21, the NBCC assured the top court that the construction of stalled projects of Amrapali Group will be of good quality and independent experts will assess the safety and quality standards.

The NBCC had earlier told the top court that at present, 10 projects in Noida and 12 in Greater Noida are under execution involving 45,957 units with a sanctioned project cost of Rs 8,025.78 crore.

The apex court in its July 23, 2019, verdict had cracked the whip on errant builders for breaching the trust reposed by home buyers and ordered the cancellation of the registration of Amrapali Group under real estate law RERA and ousted it from prime properties in the NCR by nixing land leases.

Former group directors of Amrapali -- Anil Kumar Sharma, Shiv Priya, and Ajay Kumar -- are in prison on the top court's order.

The court had directed a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged money laundering by realtors, providing relief to over 42,000 home buyers of Amrapali Group with the verdict.

The top court, which is trying to bring in funds for the stalled projects, had then directed the state-run NBCC to complete the stalled projects of Amrapali Group.