The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) recently made a significant decision regarding the Ansal Hi-tech Township insolvency case. The NCLAT overturned a plea for insolvency proceedings against Ansal Hi-tech Township Ltd by its homebuyers in Greater Noida.
The NCLAT’s decision upheld the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) ruling from January 2023. The NCLT had set aside the plea of the homebuyers, stating that they did not fulfill the required criteria to file an insolvency case against Ansal Hi-tech Township Ltd.
The homebuyers argued that their agreement with the developer considered ‘Sushant Megapolis’ as one ‘Project’ and was signed before the implementation of the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA). However, the NCLAT pointed out that the RERA Act requires prior registration of realty projects with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, and each phase of a project should be treated as a standalone real estate project, requiring separate registration.
Ansal Hi-tech Township had registered three agreements with the petitioners: Plot Allottee Agreement, Builtup Unit Allottee Agreement, and Apartment Allottee Agreement. The NCLAT noted that under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, flat allottees seeking insolvency against a real estate project must file jointly with a minimum of one hundred allottees under the same project or with at least ten percent of the total allottees, whichever is less.
The Township comprises ‘real estate projects’ of varying characteristics, with different Building Sanctioned Plans and independent terms. Despite the project having 25 projects with separate RERA registrations, the petitioners failed to meet the requirement of the ‘threshold limit’ of ’10 percent or 100 persons,’ whichever is less, in any project category.
In conclusion, the NCLAT ruled that the appeal filed by the appellant/petitioner and other petitioners before the NCLT was prima facie not maintainable under the law.
This decision by the NCLAT in the Ansal Hi-tech Township insolvency case sets a precedent for similar cases and highlights the importance of complying with RERA regulations and the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code.
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