SC ORDERED DEMOLITION OF TWIN TOWERS OF SUPERTECH AND REIMBURSEMENT TO FLAT OWNERS

On Tuesday, The Supreme Court Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah upheld a 2014 verdict of the Allahabad High Court directing the demolition of the 40 storey twin towers of Supertech Limited's Emerald Court project within 3 months. The bench further ordered the builder to bear the cost of the demolition and to reimburse all the flat owners with 12% interest. 

The Top court also directed to sanction prosecution of officials of NOIDA for conspiring with the builder to violate Uttar Pradesh Apartments Act 2010 and UP Industrial Area Development Act 1976. The court held that the permission given by the NOIDA officials in 2009 for the tower was against the minimum distance requirements and national building code. The Court further showed disappointment by stating that the case was full of collusion between the builder and NOIDA and that the illegal construction of the twin tower was achieved by such collusion. 

The court noted that there had been an increase of unauthorized construction in urban areas where rising values of land place a premium on dubious dealings, which has been noticed in several cases. It is the unseen flat owners who suffer the unholy nexus between the planners and builders. 

Author: Papiha Ghoshal