Setback for Amrapali Group as SC sends 3 directors to immediate police custody

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit took exception to the Amprapali group for not handing over all the documents to forensic auditors.

The apex court's order came on a batch of petitions filed by home buyers who are seeking possession of around 42,000 flats. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Three directors of the real estate major Amrapali Group were sent to immediate police custody on Tuesday by the Supreme Court after the group failed to submit the asked documents of the 46 group companies to forensic auditors. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit took exception to the Amprapali group for not handing over all the documents to forensic auditors and said that they will remain in police custody till they hand over all the documents, news agency PTI reported. Amrapali promoter Anil Kumar Sharma along with two other directors – Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar – was arrested inside the courtroom after an hour of hearing earlier today. The apex court's order came on a batch of petitions filed by home buyers who are seeking possession of around 42,000 flats. The court said the conduct of the directors was in "gross violation" of its order. “You are playing hide and seek. You are trying to mislead the court,” the bench said. The apex court directed both UP and Delhi police to seize all the documents of the group and hand them over to the forensic team, emphasising that not a single document related to the case should not remain with the company. The top court on September 26 had allowed the National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) to float tenders for selecting the builder to complete the stalled projects of Amrapali Group. The court also directed the NBCC to prepare a detailed project report for pending projects within 60 days. The NBCC was appointed by the Supreme Court on September 12 to develop stalled projects of the realty firm and directed the Debts Recovery Tribunal to sell the unencumbered commercial properties of the group. It also ordered Amrapali Group to submit documents of properties, including bank accounts and balance sheets of all 46 group companies, before the debt recovery tribunal (DRT). On September 6, the apex court had identified 16 properties of Amrapali for auctioning, preferably by the NBCC, to give the PSU an initial corpus to start work on the stalled projects. It had also ordered a forensic audit of the firm and its promoters to gauge the extent of financial wrongdoings. According to a report by PTI, the CMD of the group had come under the top court's scanner for declaring his assets worth at Rs 67 crore as against Rs 847 crore in his affidavit filed during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when he had unsuccessfully contested as a JDU candidate from Bihar's Jehanabad constituency. (With agency inputs)