Does failure to file claim during insolvency process disentitle homebuyer to flat? Supreme Court to examine

The Supreme Court recently agreed to examine whether the non-filing of a claim under the Insolvency Resolution Plan (IRP) can disentitle a homebuyer from getting possession of a flat even when the payments he made are reflected in the accounts of the corporate debtor [Ayush Agarwal v. Jaypee Infratech Limited and Others]..While issuing notice in a plea preferred by a homebuyer, a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta clarified that there is no interference in the execution/implementation of the resolution plan in that specific case..In 2009, the appellant was allotted a flat in a project that was to be developed by the corporate debtor, Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL). The appellant had paid almost entire consideration amount to JIL. The balance payment against the possession of said flat was to be made at the time of possession. However, the possession of the said flat eventually has not happened till date. Meanwhile, the JIL went into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).During the process, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) directed the insolvency professional to consider the claims of the homebuyers from the records of the corporate debtor. JIL's website mentioned that the flats of homebuyers who did not file the claim during the insolvency process shall be treated at par with other homebuyers and hence the requirement of filing the claim form by the appellant was not mandatory.The appellant's flat was incorporated as a liability of the corporate debtor in the Information Memorandum. However, in the Resolution Plan by the Successful Resolution Applicant (SRA) as approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), a contingent date of March 7, 2023 was provided for the submission of claims. JIL denied the appellant possession of the flat, stating that since the claim form was not submitted by March 7, the appellant has no right over the flat.Aggrieved, the appellant moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which dismissed the plea. He then moved the present appeal before the apex court..Before the top court, the appellant-homebuyer has argued that he is not required to file any claims since his name is reflected in the records of the corporate debtor, and there is no dispute that his payments are genuine..Considering this, the Court has posted the matter for hearing on September 2, 2024..Senior Advocate Archana Pathak Dave, Advocate-on-Record Tushar Jain and Advocates Mukesh Kumar, Vaibhav Chowdhary, Sumant Batra, Sanjay Bhati, Rabin Mazumdar, Sarthak Bhandari and Nidhi Yadav appeared for the appellant.Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Advocate-on-Record EC Agrawala and Advocates Mahesh Agarwal, Rishi Agrawala, Geetika Sharma and Sagar Bansal appeared for JIL..[Read Order]

Does failure to file claim during insolvency process disentitle homebuyer to flat? Supreme Court to examine

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