by THO
Real estate firm Unitech was once the country’s second-largest developer. Over the years, several of its housing projects were stalled, and legal cases were brought against its promoters. Here’s a look at the case,the recent Supreme Court orders, and who now leads the company.
In 2025, the Supreme Court passed two orders on the Unitech case.
On January 23, 2025, the Supreme Court recalled its October 2021 order directing the suspension of Tihar Central Jail officials who allegedly provided facilities to former promoters of erstwhile Unitech Group -Ajay and Sanjay Chandra – saying that if the direction were allowed to operate indefinitely, it would be “prejudicial to the state exchequer.”
After being informed that the Chandra brothers were allegedly accorded VVIP treatment in Tihar jail by the Enforcement Directorate, the top court had on August 26, 2021 directed them to be shifted to Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail and Taloja jail in Maharashtra, respectively.
The ED, investigating money laundering charges against the Chandras and Unitech Ltd, in its report had then said that the Chandras rendered the entire judicial custody meaningless as they freely communicated, instructed their officials and disposed of properties from inside the jail in connivance with the prison staff.
The promoters of the embattled real estate firm were granted bail in June 2024.
On January 16, 2025, the Supreme Court came to the rescue of thousands of home buyers and facilitated disbursal of their stalled loans for flats constructed by Unitech Ltd by granting exemption from registration under RERA for different housing projects located in seven states.
“We accordingly direct that all the ongoing projects of Unitech shall remain exempted from registration under the RERA till further orders,” the bench ordered. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, every project measuring more than 500 sq m or more than eight apartments are required to be registered with the RERA.
The Supreme Court also issued notices to banks and financial institutions, which had declared the loan accounts of home buyers as Non-Performing Assets (NPA) as the project completion was delayed, due to financial problems faced during the erstwhile management of Unitech Group and for non-compliance under RERA Act. It also directed the chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board to grant environmental clearances to the projects of Unitech being constructed at Noida.
CASE TIMELINE
In 2017, the Centre had moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking suspension of the current directors and taking control of the management of Unitech Ltd, but had later withdrawn the proposal after a stay on its move from the apex court.
In 2018, the apex court had directed a forensic audit of Unitech Ltd and its sister concerns and subsidiaries by Samir Paranjpe, Partner, Forensic and Investigation Services in M/s Grant Thornton India.
The forensic auditors submitted their report, which said that Unitech Ltd received around ₹14,270 crore from 29,800 homebuyers between 2006 and 2014 and around ₹1,805 crore from six financial institutions for the construction of 74 projects. The audit revealed that around ₹5,063 crore of homebuyers’ money and around ₹763 crore of funds received from financial institutions were not utilised by the company, and high-value investments were made in off-shore tax-haven countries between 2007 and 2010.
The top court had then ordered an investigation into the omission and commission of promoters of Unitech Ltd under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
On January 20, 2020, the Supreme Court came to the rescue of over 12,000 homebuyers of Unitech Ltd by permitting the union ministry of corporate affairs to take “total management control” of the real estate firm. It appointed retired Haryana cadre IAS officer Yudvir Singh Malik as chairman and managing director (CMD).
It had also granted immunity to the new board from any legal proceedings for some time. It said the proceedings initiated against the firm subsequent to any court order would also stand suspended until further orders. It also clarified that the board can take any commercial decision in the interest of homebuyers and with regard to any pending projects. It permitted the Board of Directors “to raise funds due from the home buyers and to sell the unsold stock and the unclaimed inventory available for reselling”. It also allowed the board to monetise the company’s unencumbered assets to complete housing units.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court permitted the new management of Unitech Limited to commence construction activities. About 74 residential and 12 commercial projects by the developer had been stuck, and 12,000 home buyers had been waiting to get possession of their apartments for over a decade.
When were the Unitech promoters granted bail?
In June 2024, a Delhi court granted bail to former promoters of the real estate firm Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra in a case of allegedly swindling home buyers. The Chandra brothers were then lodged in two separate jails in Mumbai. Sessions Judge Dheeraj Mor had granted them bail by furnishing two sureties of ₹1 lakh each, on the condition that they wouldn’t leave the country.
In January 2024, the Unitech promoters were granted bail by a Delhi Court in a case where they were accused of swindling home buyers. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police had registered an FIR for cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy against Chandra duo.
Granting bail, the court had said that the duo had been behind bars for over six years, and one of the charges against them under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) prescribed a maximum punishment of up to seven years.
The legal battle against the Chandra brothers began in 2017 when they were arrested concerning an FIR related to a Unitech project in Gurugram. The real estate firm Unitech Ltd had faced the court’s wrath in a case related to alleged siphoning off homebuyers’ money. The matter pertained to a criminal case lodged in 2015 by 158 home buyers of Unitech projects — ‘Wild Flower Country’ and ‘Anthea Project’ — situated in Gurugram.
