NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it is unfair to deny a flat buyer's claim after publication of financial creditors list under IBC.
The top court said once a claim by a flat buyer has been incorporated in the list of financial creditors, it acquired full legal recognition within the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma emphasised, to deny him possession of the flat, despite the claim having been duly verified and admitted, would inflict unfair and unwarranted prejudice.
The court also highlighted that publication of the list of financial creditors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is an act in discharge of a statutory duty by the resolution professional. It cannot be reduced to a meaningless formality.
Acting on an appeal filed by Amit Nehra and another from Bengaluru, the court set aside the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's order of January 10, 2025, which affirmed rejection of the claim for possession of a residential apartment in the real estate project of M/s Puma Realtors Private Limited, the corporate debtor.
"We are unable to countenance the approach of the NCLAT in brushing aside this admitted position, and in treating the appellants as if they had not filed any claim at all," the bench said.
The court ordered to hand over possession of apartment to the appellants within two months.
In its judgment, the bench said, "The facts of the present case highlight the plight of individual homebuyers, who invest their life savings in the hope of securing a roof over their heads."
The court noted the appellants, being allottees of an apartment in the project IREO Rise (Gardenia), Mohali developed by the erstwhile corporate debtor, have admittedly paid Rs 57,56,684 out of the total consideration of Rs 60,06,368 in 2010.
Their claim was initially submitted on January 11, 2019 in physical form at the project office at Mohali. They resubmitted their form on February 07, 2020 by way of an e-mail also. Thus, their claim was thereafter duly verified, admitted and incorporated in the list of financial creditors published on April 30, 2020.
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