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Maradu Flats Demolition | Supreme Court Lifts Attachment Of Two Homebuilders' Accounts & Properties On Condition To Furnish Security
Awstika Das
14 Dec 2022 5:11 AM GMT
In a matter related to the demolition of four illegal buildings in Maradu, Kochi two years ago, the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday directed the properties of two of the builders, namely, Alfa Ventures Private Limited and K.P. Varkey and V.S. Builders, to be 'de-attached' and their bank accounts unfrozen. The Bench, comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Vikram Nath, directed the applicant...
In a matter related to the demolition of four illegal buildings in Maradu, Kochi two years ago, the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday directed the properties of two of the builders, namely, Alfa Ventures Private Limited and K.P. Varkey and V.S. Builders, to be 'de-attached' and their bank accounts unfrozen. The Bench, comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Vikram Nath, directed the applicant builders to provide a security of Rs 25 crores and Rs 10 crores respectively for being allowed to regain control of their properties and bank accounts. The security has to be furnished to the satisfaction of the committee led by former Kerala HC judge Justice K Balakrishnan Nair, who is overseeing the compensation claims.
Senior Advocate V. Giri, on behalf of Alfa Ventures, vehemently argued for the attachment order to be lifted in order to bring them back from the precipice of bankruptcy and allow them to disburse the interest payable to the homebuyers above the principal amount which was owed to them. He said that the questions of the apportionment of liability and the quantum of compensation required detailed adjudication and were 'fairly time-consuming'. At that stage, the court needed to examine only the peripheral aspect of whether the properties and bank accounts could be de-attached in exchange of security, the senior counsel told the Bench. "For the last three years, we have been suffering. Not only are our properties attached, the other businesses of the partners and their bank accounts are attached. How can we do business? We cannot move an inch," Giri exclaimed.
The court also pulled up another of the project proponents, Holy Faith Builders and Developers Private Limited, for not paying the homeowners the principal amount and categorically instructed the company to comply with the earlier orders of the top court within two months. "We are really hard-pressed for money. The company has not been able to raise the money, nor do we have the means to," Senior Advocate R. Basant admitted. "Instead of Holy Faith, you should have been called 'Bad Faith'," said Justice Gavai, who then directed the district collector of Ernakulum to 'ensure their compliance'. "We will hold the district collector responsible if they do not comply," the Bench cautioned.
Other than this, the Justice Gavai-led Bench was informed that the Kerala Coastal Management Authority had objected to the application filed by some of the builders for reconstruction at the site where the four now-demolished buildings once stood. Amicus curiae Gaurav Agrawal apprised the court of a discussion he had regarding this with the Additional Chief Secretary of Kerala and the Chairman of the Kerala Coastal Management Authority. However, the amicus suggested that the parcels of land could be auctioned off for small-scale constructions that required neither an environmental impact assessment, nor violated the CRZ Regulations. The holders of the land should be allowed to recover whatever money that they could through this exercise since the disputed land lay vacant for these years.
The bench also said that it will consider the issue of apportionment of liability on the next hearing. The report submitted by former judge Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan, who was appointed by the Court to enquire into the violations, had held the Kerala Government and the Maradu municipality authorities also liable apart from the builders for the illegal constructions.
Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta and standing counsel Nishe Rajan Shonker appeared for the government of Kerala. The various flat builders were represented by Giri, Basant, and Advocates Harris Biran, K. Rajeev, and A. Karthik. Senior Advocates V. Chidambaresh and Meenakshi Arora appeared on behalf of the homebuyers.
In 2020, four luxury waterfront apartments in Kochi near the Vembanad backwaters disappeared from the skyline after they were demolished for violating environmental norms, pursuant to a 2019 order of the top court in which the buildings were found to have been constructed in contravention with the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification.. Although the fates of the four high-rises, namely, H20 Holy Faith, Alfa Serene, Jain Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram, were sealed after 2019, the homebuyers have been running from pillar to post seeking compensation for the demolition of their homes.
Case Title
The Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority v. Maradu Municipality & Ors. [MA 1808-1809/2019 in CA No. 4784-4785/2019, CA No. 4786-4789/2019 and CA No. 4790-4793/2019]
