All know the fall of the Supertech Twin Towers, but not everyone knows the story behind it. The whole scenario was not just about a pioneer builder pulling the strings and getting everything worked out according to his will, but it is also about four men who stood up and won against the giant and the unnerving NOIDA authority.
All four men are members of the Emerald Court Resident Welfare Association. The president of the association, Uday Bhan Singh Teotia, 79, was leading the whole fight along with Ravi Bajaj (65) retd. Income-Tax officer, SK Sharm (74), and MK Jain (59). However, Bajaj has left the association, Jain passed away due to COVID 19 last year, and Teotia and Sharma still play an active role in the Welfare Association.
The four didn’t sit quietly and continued their fight by pursuing the concerned officials and collecting donations for the legal fight.
Recently a documentary ‘Bringing Down the Towers’ was also released on News9 Plus, wherein Teotia can be heard stating, “It was Junoon, a commitment that we will fight against injustice.” which shows his determination to fight against Supertech.
Table of contents
How did It all Begin?
The real-estate pioneer Supertech has been continuously making amends in its twin towers plans since 2005. The plan for the year 2005 had one tower named ‘Ceyane’, 14 floors with a garden, which was then modified the next year with the inclusion of a shopping complex. However, the plan was altered again in 2009, wherein the garden and the shopping complex were scrapped, and two towers were included – Apex and Ceyane with 40 floors. This plan got approved by the NOIDA authority in 2012, but the construction of the same has been going on since 2009.
The early construction of the project raised a lot of eyebrows, and hence the members of the Welfare Association started asking questions and clarifications for the ongoing construction. However, the builder wasn’t keen on sharing anything with the members.
The Fight at the Court
Sharma claims that they pursued the case for one year, but no one paid any heed to them or the issue raised by them. He stated that they weren’t left with funds while fighting the case and hence needed money to continue the legal fight. They even penned a letter to the Urvan Minister, DM, but it was useless as no revert came from their side.
When the members decided to approach the court, 13 floors had already been built by the builder. The main issue after moving the court was arranging and collecting the funds. The four men then took all the responsibility and started going door-to-door to collect donations.
The Beginning of the Trial
The whole journey during the trial wasn’t easy at all. This group of four used to travel on unreserved tickets in heavily crowded trains and public transport. According to the group, plenty of people would tell them to give up on the case as it was against a pioneer real-estate builder, but it never shook their determination, and they continued fighting for it.
see also – Supertech Hill Town is a great option for homebuyers in Gurgaon
Were NOIDA Officials and SUPERTECH in the Same Boat?
The members accused Supertech of Emerald Court Resident Welfare Association of the building laws, which include the reduction of the minimum required distance between the buildings, the norms of fire, and the continuous change in plans of the building, the parking removal, etc.
The builder, however, produced a fake Emerald Court Resident Welfare Association member in court to prove that the Emerald Court residents have ever made no objections.
Bajaj claimed that the authorities and NOIDA officials were biased towards the builder initially. In the documentary, Bajaj has further stated that Supertech verified the structural safety of the twin towers by a non-authorised official, proving that they had chosen their side from the beginning.
The Endgame
Finally, in March 2014, the Allahabad High Court passed the verdict in favour of the RWA, which gave orders to demolish the twin towers and pay back the buyers with the money and interest fully.
However, this didn’t stop Supertech and the NOIDA authority from approaching the Supreme Court to question the decision made by the Allahabad High Court. People who invested in the project also moved the court for a refund or an order to move to another project. Finally, supporting the decision of Allahabad’s High Court, the Apex Court instructed Supertech to refund all the money of the people along with the interest of 12%. The court also awarded the compensation of Rs. 2 Crores to the RWA of Emerald court.
