BIKRAM CHATTERJI & ORS

Versus

UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

23 july, 2019

Provisions Involved

Special Leave Petition

Facts

In Re I.A.No.49238 of 2020 seeking directions filed by NBCC (I) Ltd. 1. By way of I.A. No.49238 of 2020, NBCC has submitted that it has established the work on the following conditions: i. “NBCC will not be held responsible for any existing disputes involving and in relation to the Projects; ii. NBCC will not be held responsible for any disputes arising from the contracts entered into by Amrapali in relation to the Projects; iii. NBCC will not be held responsible for any past or present liabilities in relation to the Projects, including on account of dues of home buyers, vendors, contractors, government authorities,etc.; iv. NBCC will not be liable in relation to any disputes, including before any Court or Arbitrator, existing or arising at a later date, with the existing vendors, contractors, co-developers, landowners, home buyers, banks, financial institutions, other lenders 2 and creditors and any government authority.” 2.As NBCC is appointed as a Project Management Consultant to complete various projects, it was permitted to float the tenders and prepare DPRs. It is submitted that NBCC has completed two projects and floated tenders for other projects, barring three projects. However, various home buyers are approaching different courts in different jurisdictions across the country, making NBCC a party. The complaints/petitions are filed against NBCC seeking reliefs, such asrefund of amounts that home buyers have paid to the Amrapali Group or to grant possession of flats, etc. The NBCC is forced to defend itself in different Courts being a party to the said petitions. For instance, a summon has been received from the State Consumer Redressal Commission, Lucknow against the CMD. The NBCC has been arrayed as respondent No.3. A complaint has also been preferred by one of the home buyers of the Amrapali Golf Homes, Greater Noida. They are receiving various letters, emails, messages, calls seeking updates regarding the progress of work being undertaken by the NBCC for the irrespective projects. Reply to every home buyer is a herculean task, and much time is being consumed in the process. The NBCC is ready and willing to submit monthly project reports with all relevant information and photographs in respect of each project to the learned Receiver, which can be made available on the blog/website for the information of home buyers, for that the NBCC has already made a request to the learned 3 Receiver as such various direction shave been sought. 3. NBCC is asked by this Court to complete the incomplete projects. It is not liable for any legal action. In view of the order that has been passed by this Court, the NBCC is immune from any such actions, and we request the Courts/ Consumer Redressal Commission and other authorities not to permit impleadment of NBCC as respondent and not to issue summons to NBCC as they are doing the work under the supervision of this Court and are not answerable to any other court, tribunal, authorities. They are granted immunity to be sued in any other court or commission, and they are answerable to this Court only in the pending proceedings. Thus, they cannot be dragged in the litigation filed by existing home buyers, previous contractors, co-developers,landowners, banks, financial institutions, other lenders and creditors, and any Government authorities before any other Court/ Commission or Authority. 4. Itis also made clear that NBCC is not responsible for attending to queries made by the home buyers.

 

Issues

Observations

Held