Unitech Case: In A First, Supreme Court Orders Auctioning Off Directors’ Assets To Repay Homebuyers

The Supreme Court has ordered the auction of personal properties of Unitech directors to pay back its customers, Times Of India has reported. The court has also ordered the sale of two plots in Kolkata belonging to Unitech which would fetch Rs 116 crore.

The order to sell personal assets of the directors is being seen as a strong signal to real estate developers, this being the first occasion when the court has ordered an auction of personal assets of directors who ran distressed firms. Unitech has said that the order was harsh as it would affect the family members of the directors.

Unitech’s managing director Sanjay Chandra and his brother have been in jail for over a year now as the top court refused bail for the duo despite Unitech’s promise to clear every penny of debt. The firm had failed to deposit Rs 750 crore as per the court’s order last year. The court had earlier ordered the auction of Unitech’s properties in Agra, Varanasi and Sriperumbudur.

The case will decide the fate of 16,299 flats still to be delivered by Unitech, Rs 7,816 crores of funds belonging to Unitech’s customers and bank debt of Rs 6,000 crore.