The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the demand to demolish high-rise buildings in Noida, on the lines of Supertech Builders’ Twin Towers, which were demolished last month for violating rules related to construction of buildings.

The Bench ruled, “If the CJI has a complaint against any building, then he can put it before the authorities. No overall order can be issued.”

The petitioner had contended that a committee should be formed under the leadership of a sitting Supreme Court Judge to investigate the illegally-built towers in Noida. 

As per the petition, following the approval of three revised plans, additional towers were constructed at the height of buildings in Gautam Buddha Nagar.

On August 28, 2022, the Twin Towers of Noida were demolished, following a Supreme Court order, for serious violation of building codes. 

Noting that the Noida Authority and Supertech had engaged in nefarious complicity, the Apex Court had the Supertech Builders to demolish the buildings at its own expense under the guidance of Noida Authority.

The Supreme Court has directed Supertech builders to immediately release Rs 70 lakh to the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), which was roped in as a consultant for structural audit of the company’s 32-storeyed twin towers – Apex and Ceyane, in Noida.

A Bench comprising Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala passed the order on Friday, after CBRI backed out from the meeting called by Noida authority on July 19, citing non-payment of its fees of Rs 70 lakh.

The Court further gave demolition agency Edifice Engineering and Supertech time till August 5 to share all required data with regard to the safety audit, vibration report, test blast results and clearing of debris.

The Apex Court told the Noida Authority to call a meeting of CBRI, Edifice Engineering and Supertech on August 6, in case of any difficulty.

The Roorkee-based company had blamed Edifice of not providing it with vital details for carrying out the audit.

The bench then directed Noida authority to file a status report before the next date of hearing, which is on August 12.

Earlier on August 31, 2021, the top court of the country had ordered demolition of the twin towers on August 21 this year.

Appearing for Noida Authority, Senior Advocate Ravindra Kumar submitted a status report before the court, stating that no one from CBRI attended the July 19 meeting, in which the residents’ welfare association of Emerald Court raised apprehensions about the safety of adjoining towers and insisted upon a structural audit of the nearby towers as well.

Noida authority has been calling meetings every month between all stakeholders, so as to ensure that all apprehensions regarding the demolition of towers located in Supertech’s Emerald Court society are addressed, said Kumar.

By way of an an audit conducted by a private agency, the residents found several cracks in the basement of nearby towers, and raised apprehensions that the demolition may impact the safety of other residential towers within the same complex.

The Noida Authority on Monday told the Supreme Court that the demolition process of twin towers of real estate developer Supertech Limited, which were raised illegally in Noida, will be completed by May 22.

The Authority told the Bench comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant that the work on the demolition has already started.

The Apex Court had asked the Noida Authority and Supertech to comply with all timelines that have been stated in the authority’s affidavit.

The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for May 17, by which time, the authority has been directed to present an updated status report. 

On February 7, the Supreme Court had directed that the demolition of the twin towers built by real-estate major Supertech Ltd in violation of norms at its Emerald Court project in Noida should start within two weeks. The Supreme Court had also directed the Supertech to pay refunds shall to all homebuyers by February 28.

On January 17, the top court had approved the proposition for the demolition agency finalised by the Noida Authority. Supertech was asked to sign a contract with the agency, “Edifice”, within a week.

Earlier, the court had pulled up the builder for not complying with its orders of refunding homebuyers who bought flats in the twin towers in Sector 93 of Noida and warned that its directors will be sent to jail for “playing truant with the court”.

On August 31, 2021, the Supreme Court had directed Supertech to demolish the 40-storey twin towers within three months and gave directions to prosecute Noida officials involved in approving maps and building plans in violation of norms. It had also ordered a refund for all home buyers with 12 per cent interest.

The real estate major had informed the court that it would need more than the allotted three months to carry out a safe demolition process.