The Supreme Court was urged to consider adopting a court-monitored hybrid resolution framework for the completion of Supertech Realtors’ stalled Supernova project in Noida, drawing parallels with earlier interventions in the Amrapali and Unitech cases. The suggestion came from amicus curiae Advocate Rajiv Jain, who presented his 721-page report before a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi. He noted that conventional insolvency proceedings had not been effective in safeguarding homebuyers’ interests in large, complex projects and argued that judicially guided mechanisms had set precedents in similar situations.
Supernova, being developed by Supertech Realtors – a wholly owned subsidiary of Supertech Ltd – is designed as a mixed-use development at Sector 94, Noida. It includes residential towers, office spaces, commercial units, studio and service apartments, and shopping facilities. The centrepiece of the project is a planned 80-storey skyscraper, projected to rise nearly 300 metres, which would make it the tallest building in the Delhi-NCR region. Supertech Ltd, however, is undergoing insolvency proceedings, leaving thousands of homebuyers uncertain about possession timelines. The amicus noted that such uncertainty called for a structure balancing creditor recoveries with the delivery of homes, thereby ensuring “complete justice” under Article 142 of the Constitution.
Justice Jain suggested that the process be supervised by a retired Supreme Court judge or a former chief justice of a high court to ensure accountability and reduce the need for repeated court hearings. Among the names proposed were former apex court judge Navin Sinha and former J&K High Court chief justice M M Kumar, who also served as president of the National Company Law Tribunal.
His recommendations included the displacement of promoters and existing management, with the suspended promoter’s role restricted to technical cooperation only; the appointment of a new board and project management consultant on the lines of the National Buildings Construction Corporation’s involvement in Amrapali projects; a forensic audit of company finances covering both Supertech Realtors and parent Supertech Ltd by a reputed and experienced entity; and replacement of the Interim Resolution Professional, citing inefficiency as the current IRP had not taken effective control despite several months in office.
The amicus informed the bench that while banks, financial institutions, and creditors broadly supported a supervised framework, opinions among homebuyers were divided. The Supernova Apartment Owners Association, represented by advocate Govind Jee, strongly opposed the appointment of Parmesh Construction Company Limited, linked to Bhutani Infra, as a co-developer. The association argued that a suspended director should not be allowed to influence the choice of a co-developer.
Despite these divisions, the amicus maintained that a hybrid resolution was the most viable path forward. He underlined that liquidation would extinguish buyers’ hopes by fragmenting assets, whereas a supervised framework could both deliver housing units and preserve creditor recoveries.
Justice Jain’s report drew attention to the evolved jurisprudence from earlier real estate insolvency cases involving Amrapali Group, Jaypee Infratech, and Unitech, where the Supreme Court had stepped in to directly oversee completion. He stressed that when ordinary insolvency processes fail, judicial innovation is warranted to prevent prolonged buyer distress.
His report argued that the framework must be strengthened by fit-and-proper criteria for developers and managers, ensuring transparency and accountability, while noting that similar approaches had already gained legal and practical acceptance in past cases.
The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing on September 17. In the interim, stakeholders are expected to review the recommendations in detail. The court is likely to weigh whether a new supervisory structure, backed by judicial oversight, could be formally constituted to move the stalled project toward completion.
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