Jailed Unitech Promoter Sanjay Chandra Gets Bail As Parents Hospitalised

The top court granted the bail because Chandra's parents are unwell and hospitalised.

Jailed Unitech Promoter Sanjay Chandra Gets Bail As Parents Hospitalised
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to beleaguered real estate company Unitech's promoter, Sanjay Chandra, who along with his brother Ajay Chandra has been in jail for the last three years for allegedly duping home buyers through two housing projects in Gurugram. Sanjay Chandra's parents are unwell and hospitalised. The top court granted the bail to Sanjay Chandra for one month, while denying bail to Ajay Chandra. Sanjay Chandra's 79-year-old father is COVID-19 positive and admitted in an ICU.

Here are 10 things to know:

  1. The matter relates to alleged siphoning of home-buyers' money by Unitech, whose promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra have been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since August 2017.

  2. Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra were arrested by Delhi Police in March 2017 for not handing over the possession of flats to buyers despite the money having been paid to the company.

  3. Unitech Group has not been able to complete the construction of 74 housing projects, involving investment by more than 17,000 individuals.

  4. More than 50 per cent of the money deposited by individuals and financial institutions has been siphoned off, in the case.

  5. In May this year, the top court asked jail authorities to withdraw special facilities to Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra.

  6. In January, it had allowed the replacement of Unitech's existing board, with former IAS Officer Yudvir Singh Malik as the new chairman.

  7. Forensic audits of the company's books in 2019 showed alleged diversion of funds by the company's management, which led to delay in completion of housing projects and left thousands of buyers without delivery of homes. 

  8. Unitech was once among the country's leading real estate companies. Sanjay Chandra's father, Ramesh Chandra, founded Unitech in 1971.

  9. The company initially started as a consultancy firm for soil and foundation engineering, and expanded its businesses to areas such as residential and commercial property, infrastructure, industrial facilities and steel plants.

  10. The country's real estate sector has for long reeled under a prolonged period of low demand and a credit crunch in the financial system, and relies heavily on loans from banks and other financial institutions.