New Delhi, March 11 The Supreme Court on Wednesday criticized the CBI for its investigation into the alleged "unholy nexus" between banks and developers to defraud homebuyers in Delhi-NCR and other parts of the country, stating that prolonging the investigation would only cause more distress to the buyers.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, expressed concern over the CBI's statement that some cases involving homebuyers who were defrauded under the subvention scheme should be transferred to state agencies for investigation.
The bench, which refused to transfer the cases to state agencies, directed the CBI to investigate all cases and convert the preliminary inquiries into regular cases.
"This court cannot wait indefinitely for the conclusion of the investigation," the bench said, adding, "delaying or prolonging the investigation will only cause more distress to the homebuyers who have already been harassed by the builders and developers, apparently in collusion and connivance with financial institutions and banks."
The Supreme Court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by over 1,200 homebuyers, with the lead petition filed by Himanshu Singh through advocate Akshay Srivastava, who had booked flats under subvention plans in various housing projects in the NCR, particularly in Noida, Greater Noida, and Gurugram. They allege that they were being forced by banks to pay installments despite not having possession of the flats.
The bench had ordered CBI investigations into the alleged "unholy nexus" between banks and builders to defraud homebuyers through subvention schemes.
Under the subvention scheme, banks disburse the sanctioned amount directly to the accounts of builders, who are then required to pay EMIs on the sanctioned loan amount until the flats are handed over to the homebuyers.
After builders started defaulting on EMIs to banks, in line with the tripartite agreement, banks demanded the EMIs from the homebuyers – the third party in the agreement.
The bench observed that if the CBI continues with this approach, it may set up a committee to oversee the investigation by the agency.
The Supreme Court said that if the CBI is facing staff shortages to probe the cases, it can write to state DGPs and seek their assistance.
While expressing displeasure that bank officials were not being investigated by the CBI, the bench asked a "responsible officer" from the CBI to file an affidavit by the next date of hearing, outlining the progress of the investigation in all the cases.
It directed the CBI to consult a report filed by amicus curiae Rajiv Jain on April 29, last year, and to indicate a probable timeline for the completion of the investigation.
Advocate Pranav Sachdeva, appearing for another petitioner, said that the requirement of prior prosecution sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act against errant bank officials, who are public servants, should be dispensed with, as the investigation is being conducted under court supervision.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the CBI, said that the agency would take care of any such impediment.
The bench said that all affected parties, including homebuyers, banks, and builders, should submit their claims, suggestions, and recommendations to the amicus curiae, who would then examine them and place appropriate material before the court.
"Homebuyers, financial institutions, or builders shall be at liberty to submit their claims, suggestions, and recommendations to the learned amicus curiae for his consideration. No such claims shall be directly entertained by this court unless it is reviewed by the amicus," it said.
On January 20, the Supreme Court asked a special CBI court here to take cognizance within two weeks of the three chargesheets filed by the federal agency in the cases related to the "unholy nexus" between banks and developers in the NCR region and proceed with the trial.
On September 23, last year, the apex court had allowed the CBI to register six more regular cases into the "unholy nexus" between banks and developers to defraud homebuyers in real estate projects in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mohali, and Prayagraj.
Two months prior to that, the court had allowed the CBI to register 22 cases in which homebuyers were defrauded in the National Capital Region (NCR) by using the subvention scheme.
On April 29, 2025, the apex court directed the CBI to register seven preliminary inquiries against builders in NCR, including Supertech Limited.
The court frowned upon the collusion of development authorities' officials, banks, and builders to defraud homebuyers, stating that it has found a prima facie nexus between renowned banks and builders in Noida, Gurugram, Yamuna Expressway, Greater Noida, Mohali, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Allahabad.
Jain had called Supertech Limited the "main culprit" in defrauding homebuyers, whereas the Corporation Bank had advanced more than Rs 2,700 crore to builders through subvention schemes.
The amicus' report has revealed that Supertech Limited alone has secured a loan of Rs 5,157.86 crore since 1998.