'Missing' 10% in Jaypee: Nearly 2,000 buyers haven't claimed homes

‘Missing’ 10% in Jaypee: Nearly 2,000 buyers haven’t claimed homes

NOIDA: As votes pour in to pick between NBCC and Suraksha to complete nearly 20,000 houses at Jaypee Wish Town, there are nearly 2,000 homebuyers who stand to lose their investments and run the risk of forfeiture.

The approximate value of the forfeiture is estimated at around Rs 1,000 crore.

All creditors had time till 90 days from the commencement of the bankruptcy resolution process to claim their stake as stipulated by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

According to interim resolution professional (IRP) Anuj Jain, there are 1,933 buyers who have not claimed their property on paper and another set of 258 buyers who have claimed their houses late – after the official period designated by the Supreme court for buyers to fill the forms in 2017.

NBCC has upheld an order by the Supreme Court in which it had pronounced that unclaimed properties should stand extinguished.

However, Suraksha has taken a more accommodating stand – it has proposed that it would consider homebuyers’ claims until the end of proceedings at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

According to sources, the IRP’s office has on numerous occasions published advertisements and urged buyers to claim their property. Some of those who haven’t filed claims have paid up to 90% of their flat value. One such buyer is Kanishk Singh, a commercial pilot with a national airline. He told TOI, “I stay out of the country for long periods. I booked a flat for Rs 50 lakh flat a long time back. I have paid up to 90% of the flat’s cost but had no idea that I would have to fill a form to make a claim for my apartment. I filled up a form this month (June 3). I do hope my funds don’t get forfeited.”

Buyers of Jaypee Wish Town had over eight months to fill up forms and claim their property in 2017. A list was submitted by Jaypee Infratech on December 6, 2019, to the committee of creditors (CoC) overseeing the insolvency resolution, which declared a total 18,969 buyers as ‘active’ – those who wanted their houses.

The committee listed 412 buyers as refund seekers (‘inactive’) and 2,400 who had been given offers of possession.

A total of 2,191 buyers were listed by Jaypee as buyers who did not file their claims till December 2019.

From January 2020 till June 2021, 258 buyers have filled up forms, though these are not officially reflected in CoC records.

The Supreme Court had in a judgment clarified that “In the very scheme of the corporate insolvency resolution process, a resolution applicant cannot be expected to make a provision in relation to any creditor or depositor who has failed to make a claim within the stipulated and extended time”.

“The buyers who have not filed claims are not part of CoC or the voting process,” said IRP Jain.