NCR builder-bank fraud: Supreme Court tells CBI to register cases after probe detects cognisable offence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to proceed with registering criminal cases in a matter involving allegations of a builder-bank nexus and loan fraud against homebuyers in Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and beyond [Himanshu Singh vs. Union of India].

The Court had earlier ordered a preliminary probe into the matter by ordering the registration of seven preliminary enquiries.

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and NK Singh was informed today that the CBI's seventh preliminary enquiry found the commission of cognisable offences.

The matter was mentioned by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati.

The Court proceeded to take on record a sealed cover report submitted by the CBI, and directed that the agency must now go beyond the enquiry stage.

It told the CBI to take necessary steps under law, including the registration of First Information Reports, in cases where criminal conduct had been established.

The order was passed in a batch of petitions filed by over 1,200 homebuyers alleging large-scale collusion between builders and financial institutions in housing projects across Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and beyond.

In April, the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to conduct seven separate preliminary enquiries into what it then described as an “unholy nexus” between banks and developers.

The direction followed a report submitted by amicus curiae Rajiv Jain, former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, which identified systemic irregularities in subvention loan schemes promoted between 2013 and 2015.

Under these schemes, buyers were required to pay only a token amount, with banks releasing the remainder of the loan directly to builders upfront. Many projects stalled by 2018–19, but banks continued to recover EMIs from buyers who never received possession of their homes.

The Court had directed the CBI to set up a Special Investigation Team, with officers on deputation from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, and to coordinate with nodal officers from the Reserve Bank of India, the National Housing Bank, and development authorities in affected cities. It also appointed three forensic auditors through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to assist in the investigation.

One of the seven enquiries was directed specifically at Supertech, a builder linked to 21 projects across six cities and to more than 799 petitioners in the ongoing litigation. The other inquiries covered projects in Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, along the Yamuna Expressway and outside the NCR region.

Today ASG Bhati confirmed that the seventh enquiry had been finalised and had found enough material to justify criminal proceedings. The Bench recorded the submission and made it clear that the CBI should move forward without delay.