(Image source from: Ndtv.com)

The Central Bureau of Investigation has been given permission by the Supreme Court to open 22 cases related to the connection between banks and developers that has cheated home buyers in the National Capital region. These cases may involve well-known builders in the area. The agency has also requested more time to look into builders from other cities. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the CBI, informed the panel of Justices Suryakant and N Koteshwar Singh that they need more time to finish their investigation. The court granted them six weeks, showing satisfaction with the progress made by CBI. The court was reviewing a collection of petitions submitted by over 1,200 home buyers who had purchased apartments through subvention schemes in various housing developments in the NCR.

They claimed that the banks are pressuring them to pay EMIs even though they have not received the keys to their apartments. In the subvention arrangement, banks send the approved funds directly to the builders' accounts. They cover the EMIs until the apartments are delivered to the buyers. However, the builders have failed to pay these EMIs, and according to the tripartite agreement, banks are now requiring the home buyers to pay them. In July of the previous year, the Supreme Court ordered that banks and builders could not take any harsh actions against home buyers for not paying EMIs and that no complaints would be considered against them for bounced checks. Nevertheless, a group of lawyers informed the court that lower courts, particularly in Gurgaon, were still issuing strict orders against home buyers. The court has instructed the District and Sessions Judge of Gurgaon to look into this matter and provide a report within ten days.