New Delhi: In a major blow to India’s second largest real estate company, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Unitech Ltd. to refund Rs 15 crore to home buyers for an unfinished project in Gurgaon.
The apex court asked Unitech to pay Rs 5 crore within 2 weeks and the rest Rs 10 crore has to be paid by September end.
Unitech also reportedly stated that it fears the projects may turn into non-performing assets if people would seek refund.
ALSO READ: Audi is making cars that will sync with traffic signals
The shares of the real estate company slumped 20% intraday on Tuesday after its lawyers told Supreme Court that it doesn’t have funds to refund the money to home buyers. Bombay Stock Exchange had sought a clarification from the company on the media reports. “We don’t have money. If we had money, we would have constructed the flats and buildings and given to them,” senior advocated A M Singhvi, the counsel for Unitech Ltd, told a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said.
The company in a clarification on Wednesday said its counsels statement in the Supreme Court has been misquoted. “His (counsels) contention was that the money received from customers has already been invested in land cost and building structures constructed at project site, and therefore its is not feasible to refund money to the customers. In fact, in the large interest, the refund amounts being claimed by the customers can be better utilised for construction and completion of pending project,” the company’s statement said. As a result, the company’s shares were trading 2.54 per cent up at Rs 5.24 on Wednesday at 12.55 pm.
The court last Friday had asked Unitech lawyers to submit a list of buyers who wanted a refund by the August 17 hearing.