Supertech twin towers to be demolished on Aug 28: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday gave additional bandwidth of one week for the demolition of Supertech's twin 40-storey towers in its Emerald project in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in case of any supervening circumstances or technical issues delaying the demolition on August 28.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna agreed with the Noida authority's submissions and gave an additional bandwidth of one week in case of any technical delay or weather conditions in the demolition of the twin towers.

Noida apprised the apex court that certain work prior to demolition has to be completed by August 25. On May 17, the apex court had extended till August 28 the deadline for demolition of Supertech's twin tower. The earlier date fixed to demolish the towers, which have been held illegal for a violation of norms, was May 22, 2022. It was extended to three months after the agency appointed for demolition Edifice Engineering sought time.

Earlier, the application for an Extention of time to demolish the towers was filed by Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) for Supertech said that after the test blast conducted by Edifice Engineering it was found that the structure was stronger and more stable than was expected.

IRP was appointed superseding the board of Supertech Ltd. by the NCLT while hearing a petition filed by the Union Bank of India against the real estate major for non-payment of dues worth around Rs 432 crore.

Amicus curiae advocate Gaurav Agrawal had also supported the application and said that even agency CBRI (Central Building Research Institute) which has been appointed by the top court to oversee the demolition exercise has also approved the extension of time.

The apex court bench earlier this year informed that by May 22 towers will be demolished and by August 22 the entire debris would be removed from the site and the site will be completely cleared by M/S Edifice. On February 7, the top court had asked the CEO, Noida to take necessary steps and to commence within two weeks the demolition of Supertech's twin towers in Noida.

The top court was told by the Noida authority that Edifice Engineering has been chosen to carry out the demolition of the twin towers in consultation with the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee. The apex court had earlier dismissed a plea of Supertech seeking modification of its August 31, 2021 order by which it was directed to demolish two of its 40-storey towers at its Emerald Court housing project.

While directing the demolition of two towers over grave violations of building norms, the top court had said that it was a result of "nefarious complicity" between Noida Authority and the Supertech and ordered that company shall carry out the demolition at its own expense within three months under the supervision of the Noida Authority and an expert body like the Central Building Research Institute.

The order had come on a batch of petitions filed by homebuyers for and against the April 11, 2014 verdict of the Allahabad High Court, which had ordered the demolition of the two buildings within four months and the refund of money to apartment buyers.