Jaypee officials now can’t sell any assets

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday while permitting Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (parent company of Jaypee Infratech) to pay Rs 2,000 cr in installments restrained its independent directors and promoters and their family members from transferring any personal assets or property without the court’s permission view to safeguarding the interests of homebuyers.

In a stern message to embattled realty firm Jaiprakash Associate Limited (JAL), the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed its 13 directors not to alienate their personal properties and asked the company to pay up Rs 275 crore by December end “like a good kid.”

A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud made it clear that the promoters and directors will be held for criminal prosecution or contempt of the courts if they violated the order.

Eight independent directors and five promoters of Jaiprakash Associates were personally present in court on Wednesday as per the court’s earlier direction. When counsel expressed inability to deposit Rs 2,000 crores in one installment, the CJI observed, “You have gone up at the cost of home buyers. We will not allow you to sell the properties.”

When the counsel submitted that RS 275 cr was being deposited in the registry, the Bench allowed Jaiprakash Associates to furnish the due amount of Rs 2,000 crore in installments. As regards the remaining liability of Rs 1,725 crores, the bench directed that Rs 150 crore be deposited by December 14 and another Rs 125 crore by the end of December. At the last hearing, Jaiprakash Associate’s offer to deposit Rs 400 crore towards the due amount of Rs 2,000 crore was rejected by the court.

The court asked Pawan Shree Agrawal, amicus curiae, to set up a website that would help maintain a detailed account of the money owed to homebuyers and aid the refund process. The petitioners, who are homebuyers of Jaypee’s Wish Town project at Noida in Uttar Pradesh, had challenged the insolvency proceedings initiated against Jaypee Infratech. The court while staying the Allahabad high court order had also restricted the directors of firm from leaving the country. The apex court also revived insolvency proceedings against Jaypee Infratech Ltd and handed over its management control to the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP), appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal.

Jaypee Infratech was among the 12 companies, against whom the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), through its 13 June directive, had asked banks to file insolvency petitions.

The Bench directed listing of the matter on 10 January 2018 when the 13 independent directors and promoters will also be present.