New Delhi: Chief Justice of India-designate Justice Uday Umesh Lalit on Monday said that "a prophecy seems to be coming true. Amrapali case is not going to leave me soon". Justice Lalit, who will assume charge as Chief Justice of India on August 27, will next hear the Amrapali case on September 3 (Saturday) from 10.30 am to 1 pm, a day which is a holiday in the top court.
A special bench of Justice Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi which hears the Amrapali case granted interim bail of four weeks to ex-Director Shiva Priya for the treatment of his 13-years-old daughter, who is suffering from various ailments. The bench said that Priya, facing money laundering charges among others, will surrender on or before the expiry of four weeks period and would not misuse his liberty or his bail bonds will be forfeited and he will be arrested.
Justice Lalit, who has been hearing the Amrapali case since March 2018 said, "It seems that prophecy expressed by advocate ML Lahoty is coming true. This Amrapali case is not going to leave me soon". He said that although a canvas of issues is involved in the Amrapali case but from now on only part heard applications and issues will be taken up and no fresh issue will be decided. Justice Lalit clarified that a new bench will be set up after the part-heard matters are wrapped up and it would hear the rest of the issues involved in the case.
The special bench, which usually hears the case on the second half of every Monday, will now assemble on September 3 which is on Saturday. Lahoty, who appears for home buyers in the case told Justice Lalit, a couple of weeks back during the hearing of the Amrapali matter, "I have a firm belief this case, which started from court number one (Chief Justice's Court) in 2017 will now end in court one in 2022". In 2017, home buyers of the Amrapali group of companies moved to the top court seeking various reliefs including compensation and refund of their money for delayed possession of their flats. Subsequently, several issues have come forward in the matter including the investigation by various agencies into the alleged diversion of home buyers' money.
The top court is also dealing with the completion of stalled projects of Amrapali Group which it has entrusted to state-run NBCC company and appointed court receiver senior advocate R Venkataramani as custodian of the movable and immovable properties of the real estate group. On August 8, the top court granted interim bail to Anil Kumar Sharma, ex-CMD of Amrapali Group of Companies on medical grounds after he complained of post-surgery complications.
The top court had granted Sharma interim bail and directed him to surrender in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate before or at the end of four weeks, and be sent back to jail. The bench cautioned him against misuse of liberty and asked him to use the four weeks to consult doctors and undergo treatment. On August 4, the top court had sought a status report on the medical condition of Sharma, who is lodged in jail here and was seeking interim bail citing his deteriorating health post-surgical intervention. On June 9, the apex court allowed Sharma's surgery to be conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for the repair of a "bilateral inguinal hernia" within a week. Sharma is lodged in Mandoli prison here.
On March 21, the top court refused to order the transfer and clubbing of over 80 criminal cases lodged by the home buyers against the directors and other officials of the Amrapali group firms, saying it would "queer the pitch" and make life difficult for a trial judge. The top court had not agreed to the fervent submission of the counsel for one of the jailed officials of the real estate group that like coal scam cases, the trial in 85 criminal matters, which are of similar nature, can be transferred to one court from seven different courts in the national capital. It has been monitoring the cases related to the embattled real estate company after many home buyers approached it alleging malpractices and non-delivery of homes or flats.
The apex court, in its July 23, 2019 verdict, had cracked down on errant builders for breaching the trust reposed by the home buyers and ordered the cancellation of registration of the Amrapali Group under real estate law RERA and ousted it from prime properties in the national capital region (NCR) by nixing the land leases. The top court had directed a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged money laundering by realtors, providing relief to over 42,000 home buyers of the Amrapali Group with the verdict.
Besides ED, the Economic Offence Wing (EoW) of the Delhi Police and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has also been investigating various cases lodged against the former officials of the real estate group. The top court, which is trying to bring in funds for the stalled projects, had then directed the state-run NBCC to complete the stalled projects of Amrapali Group. (PTI)
