In a seismic move shaking up the National Capital Region’s real estate corridors, the Supreme Court has unleashed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on an alleged “unholy alliance” between builders and banks, with controversial developer Supertech Ltd. first in the firing line.
Acting on a flood of grievances from homebuyers trapped in never-ending EMIs and half-built dreams, the Court — led by Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh — has formally greenlit seven preliminary CBI probes. Supertech’s sprawling empire of unfinished projects will be the starting point. But the net is cast wide: the probe will also reach builders across Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and beyond — even touching distant cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mohali, and Allahabad.
“Enough is enough,” the bench effectively said, tired of banks and developers playing chess with ordinary citizens’ lives. Preliminary enquiries will now roll out under the CBI’s watch, each tied to a different development authority in the NCR, while a special focus will zero in on Supertech’s staggering 21 projects involving 19 banks and housing finance companies.
To fast-track the effort, the Court ordered the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to immediately shortlist seasoned officers for deputation to CBI teams. Chartered Accountants, RERA officials, housing authorities — all must fall in line within a week. No more hiding behind bureaucratic smokescreens.
Interestingly, the Court also tightened the purse strings of the banks: Corporation Bank, which alone pumped ₹2,477 crore into these ventures, has been ordered to bankroll the honorarium and operational costs for the Amicus Curiae and his team. Other banks are expected to follow suit.
The Court issued a clear warning: fresh faces at the top of a builder’s hierarchy — courtesy of insolvency cleanups — won’t wash away past sins. Accountability, the Court emphasized, remains firmly in place.
At the heart of this sprawling scandal is a system gone rogue: banks allegedly sidestepping RBI norms, disbursing hefty loans directly to developers while leaving homebuyers saddled with debt and no roofs over their heads. The subvention schemes, once marketed as buyer-friendly solutions, have now morphed into financial traps.
This fresh offensive follows an earlier Supreme Court intervention protecting over 1,200 homebuyers from coercive legal action by banks — a shield that remains in place.
The CBI, methodical by nature, is tasked with submitting its first status report at the next hearing. Meanwhile, the Court has vowed to monitor the case monthly, determined to pry open the dark corners of an industry where dreams — and money — too often vanish.
The days of builders and bankers operating unchecked in NCR seem numbered. The crackdown has officially begun.
