Supreme Court Issues Notice In Homebuyers' Writ Against Ansal Properties' ₹257 Crore Default
Kirit Singhania
6 April 2026 5:00 PM IST
The Supreme Court on Monday, 6 April, issued notice in a writ petition filed by the Genuine Homebuyers Association for Relief (GHAR), in Uttar Pradesh, challenging the insolvency proceedings against Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd in relation to the Sushant Golf City project in Lucknow.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, after hearing the homebuyer association, directed that the petition be tagged with the main matter involving Ansal Properties.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing GHAR, submitted that the case concerned a very large housing project involving around 5,000 homebuyers, which warranted the Supreme Court's intervention under Article 32 for two reasons.
First, he noted that the Court had already entertained a Special Leave Petition arising from the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in the same matter, justifying continued judicial scrutiny.
Secondly, Bhushan contended that the project was essentially a government-organised initiative, involving a complex framework of policies, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), and public authorities, thereby raising significant public law issues beyond a mere private dispute and meriting a writ petition.
The Bench, observed the existence of parallel proceedings, including the SLP already entertained, and directed that the GHAR petition be tagged with the main matter.
Background
The case arises from an insolvency application by IL&FS Financial Services Ltd against Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd for a default of about Rs. 257.43 crore.
The dispute concerns financing for the Sushant Golf City project in Lucknow, which involves significant homebuyer interest. Loans were extended in 2016 and later restructured, but the corporate debtor defaulted despite recall notices and settlement attempts in March 2022 and November 2023. Even after partial payments of Rs. 28.36 crore, default continued as of 21 May 2024.
Ansal Properties contended that it was a solvent real estate company facing temporary liquidity issues, and that initiating a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) would adversely impact thousands of homebuyers connected to its projects.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), by an order dated 25 February 2025, rejected these submissions. The Tribunal held that at the admission stage, only the existence of debt and default is relevant. Since both were admitted and exceeded the statutory threshold, the petition was allowed, CIRP was initiated, and a moratorium was imposed.
On appeal, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on 7 January 2026 noted the complexity of the real estate insolvency involving multiple stakeholders. While upholding the continuation of CIRP based on admitted debt and default, the NCLAT deferred issues relating to project-wise resolution and stakeholder protection, restrained issuance of Form G, and permitted stakeholders to file claims.