Supreme Court dismisses Supertech's plea seeking review of order to demolish twin 40-storey towers in Noida
The filing of applications styled as miscellaneous applications' or applications for clarifications in the guise for review cannot be countenanced, the apex court said
The SIT is investigating the irregularities that occurred between 2004 and 2017 and is conducting a time-bound probe into the construction of the two multi-storey towers that had come up in violation of building bye-laws.
The Supreme Court, on October 4, dismissed Supertech's application to save one of the two 40-storey towers in its Emerald Court project in Noida, that were ordered to be razed over grave illegalities on August 31.
Supertech had later approached the Supreme Court to stop the demolition, saying that it has an alternative plan that could save several crores of rupees from going waste and also prove to be “beneficial for the environment”.
The filing of applications styled as miscellaneous applications' or applications for clarifications in the guise for review cannot be countenanced, the apex court said.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna said that there is no substance in the application filed by Supertech Ltd and hence it is dismissed.
The attempt in the miscellaneous applications is clearly to seek substantive modification of the judgement of this court. Such an attempt is not permissible in the miscellaneous applications, the bench said on October 4.
The Allahabad high court had in 2014 ordered demolition of the twin towers - an order which the Supreme Court upheld in August.
Two days after the Supreme Court gave the demolition order, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a special investigation team (SIT).
The UP government’s special investigation team (SIT), constituted to investigate Supertech’s Emerald Court project case and fix responsibility on the officials who permitted the construction of the twin towers, has submitted its report and found 26 officials of the Noida Authority guilty in the case of which 20 have retired, two have died and four are still serving, an official statement said on October 3.
The Uttar Pradesh government on October 3 has suspended three Noida Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) officers over their role in illegal construction of Supertech’s two 40-storey towers in Noida, the statement said.
“Of the four serving officials, one has already been suspended from work. Departmental inquiry is being initiated against the remaining three officials. Order has been issued for action against retired officials as per procedures,” the statement said
It also directed that an FIR be lodged with the state vigilance commission against these officials, four directors and two architects of Supertech Limited.
The SIT said in its report that Supertech encroached a "green belt" which was part of the layout plan, measuring 7,000 square metres as "land plots", for which a departmental inquiry against Noida Authority officials is already in progress.
Observing that there was collusion between Noida Authority and the builder in the construction of 40-storey twin towers in Noida, the Supreme Court on August 31 ordered the demolition of the structures located in Sector 93A within three months. The court held that the construction violated the minimum distance requirement and had been built illegally without taking the consent of the individual flat owners as required under the UP Apartment Act.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah ordered that the demolition of the twin towers should be completed within three months and the builder would have to bear the expenses for the same.
The court said that the work of demolition shall be carried out by Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) to ensure safe demolition. In case CBRI refuses, a new authority will be appointed, the bench said.
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