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Amit Nehra & Anr. vs. Pawan Kumar Garg & Ors.

Not available · 2025 INSC 1086Decided 9 Sept 2025
Not available
Justice Sanjay Kumar · Justice Satish Chandra Sharma

Background

The appellants, a couple from Bengaluru, booked an apartment in a residential project (IREO Rise, Mohali) in 2010 and paid nearly the entire sale price, over Rs. 57 lakh out of about Rs. 60 lakh, but never received possession. After the developer went through insolvency proceedings, the appellants say they submitted their claim form in January 2019, and in any case resubmitted it by email in February 2020 after the resolution professional invited homebuyers to resubmit due to incomplete records; their claim was verified and formally listed among admitted financial creditors in April 2020. Despite this, the NCLT and NCLAT treated their claim as "belated" (filed after the Committee of Creditors approved the resolution plan) and limited them to only a 50% cash refund rather than possession of the flat.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court set aside the NCLAT and NCLT orders and directed the resolution applicant to execute the conveyance deed and hand over possession of the apartment within two months. It held that once a claim has been duly verified by the resolution professional and formally included in the published list of financial creditors, it cannot later be treated as if no claim had ever been filed: the plan's own clause for "belated/unverified" claims (entitling only a reduced refund) applies to claims that were never verified or communicated, not to claims like the appellants' that were fully processed and accepted. The Court emphasized that homebuyers who had paid almost their entire life savings toward a home should not be reduced to mere refund claimants once their claim was officially recognized in the insolvency process.

Lesson Learnt

In an insolvency resolution process, a homebuyer (or any creditor) whose claim has been formally verified and published in the official list of creditors is entitled to the full treatment promised for verified claims under the resolution plan. It cannot later be downgraded to the harsher terms meant for late or unverified claims.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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