What is Noida Supertech Twin Tower case?

The Supreme Court of India recently directed demolition of two 40-storey towers, comprising of 850 flats, of Supertech Ltd Group in Noida.

Highlights

• Supreme Court issued this direction after it found that Supertech has flouted regulations regarding the distance to be maintained between buildings and of fire safety.
• According to court, these towers were constructed through acts of collusion between New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA)  and the Supertech group. Thus, court gave the go-ahead for prosecuting them.

Ruling by Court

Supreme Court upheld the ruling by the Allahabad High Court. In its decision, supreme court directed the two towers namely Apex and Ceyane by Emerald Court project of Supertech, to be demolished within three months. All the expenses will be borne by the developer. Supertech was also asked to refund at an annual interest rate of 12% to all those who had purchased flats in the towers within two months. Apart from that, Supertech has to pay Rs 2 crore to the Residents’ Welfare Association of 15 other towers that were constructed as part of the original plan. It also rejected the argument by the NOIDA administration that, rules dealt with distance between two adjacent building blocks and that two towers were part of one block.

Background

Supertech had made appeal against the Allahabad High Court ruling of April 2014 in Supreme Court. Allahabad High Court had directed the company to demolish the twin towers and sanctioned prosecution of the involved officials. These towers had been under construction when High Court gave its ruling. The Supreme Court has also ordered a status quo.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2021