Supreme Court on Monday once again denied bail to Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra, asking the real estate company to deposit Rs 1,000 crore out of the Rs 1,865 crore required to refund 4,776 homebuyers awaiting the money.

This is the fourth time the SC has denied bail to the Unitech boss. The bench, headed by CJI Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwalkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, suggested that Unitech could auction the flats, which are partially ready, unsold or returned by the homebuyers who want their money back, to raise the funds. The report submitted by amicus curiae Pawanshree Aggarwal to the apex court spelt out an amount of Rs 1,865 crore due to 4,688 homebuyers. Counsel Ranjit Kumar, who argued the bail plea of Sanjay Chandra two days after he resigned as the Solicitor General of India, informed the bench that the company has a plan to give the money back to the homebuyers and also allot flats to those who opt for possession.
Kumar also said the plan of raising funds and fulfilling the obligations can’t be carried out from jail. The apex court has been very consistent in taking a stand on alleged cheating cases. In the case of Sahara chief Subrata Roy, who has been in Tihar jail since March 4, 2014, the apex court had granted him four weeks’ parole on May 6, 2016 to attend his mother’s funeral.

But the court had exten­d­ed his parole until July 2017 when he was sent to jail. Roy was jailed over non-compliance of the SC order asking his firms Sahara India Real Estate Corporation and Sahara Housing Investment Corp to ret­urn Rs 24,000 crore to investors.

The apex court had last month asked the buyers of Unitech who had not received possession of flats to register for refund on a newly created portal – www.amicusunitech.in.

There may be more claimants than the assessed figure so far. Unitech has to deliver 16,299 flats for which it had raised Rs 7,816 crore from the buyers.

The apex court had earlier said that the court has to strike a balance between an individual’s liberty and the tears of 16,2999 homebuyers who have been running after a mirage for years for investing their hard earned money.

Chandra and his brother Ajay were arrested in April this year after buyers who did not get their flats as promised filed complaints of cheating against them. The brothers had moved the apex court against a Delhi High Court order denying interim bail to them.

The matter will now be heard on October 30.