NCLAT
scraps homebuyers' plea for insolvency against Ansal Hi-tech Township
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)
on Monday set aside a plea seeking insolvency proceedings against Ansal Hi-tech
Township Ltd filed by its homebuyers of a project in Greater Noida.
The appellate tribunal has upheld the order passed
by the Delhi-based bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had
in January 2023 set aside the plea of homebuyers, observing that the allottees
belong to different projects and does not fulfil the required criteria to file
an insolvency case.
The project is located in Greater Noida, Uttar
Pradesh.
The NCLT's order was challenged before the NCLAT.
The homebuyers argued that the agreement with the developer terms 'Sushant
Megapolis' as one complete 'Project' and was signed much before RERA (Real
Estate Regulation and Development Act) came into force.
They further submitted that 1,500-acre project
'Sushant Megapolis' comprises plots, built-up plots, raw houses/flats/floors,
high-rise apartments, under various allocated sites within the project.
However, NCLAT said that the RERA Act points out the
requirement of a prior registration of a realty project with the Real Estate
Regulatory Authority. And where the real estate project is to be developed in
phases, every such phase shall be considered a standalone real estate project,
and the promoter shall obtain registration, under this Act, for each phase,
separately.
Ansal Hi-tech Township has registered three agreements
with the petitioners--Plot Allottee Agreement, Builtup Unit Allottee Agreement,
and Apartment Allottee Agreement.
It further said that under the Insolvency &
Bankruptcy Code, flat allottees, which are financial creditors, seeking
insolvency against a real estate project, need to file a plea jointly with not
less than one hundred of such allottees under the same project or with not less
than ten per cent of the total number of such allottees, whichever is less.
Moreover, the Township comprises 'real estate
projects' of different character, with different Building Sanctioned Plans,
having independent terms.3
"In fact, for the said sanctioned plans, being
the subject matter of RERA Registrations, secured for the said ongoing
projects, under the 'Township', different approval letters, for separate real
estate projects, under this Township were issued," NCLAT observed.
It has 25 projects with separate RERA registrations
and in regard to the different categories of the project, the break-up of the
number of applicants and "in none of the project categories, the
petitioners fulfil the requirement of 'threshold limit' of '10 per cent or 100
persons', whichever is less."
"This Tribunal, on a careful consideration of
divergent contentions, advanced on either side, considering the facts and
circumstances of the instant case, comes to an irresistible and consequent
conclusion that filed by the appellant/petitioner and other petitioners, before
the NCLT, Principal Bench, New Delhi, is prima facie not maintainable in the
eye of law," the NCLAT said.
www.business-standard.com
dt. 02.04.2024