Delhi HC restrains Ajnara Group from creating more third-party interests in its Times Square project
Sep 18, 2020
New Delhi [India], September 18 : The Delhi High Court has restrained Ajnara Group from creating any further third party interests in its project Times Square, after the allegation of cheating RR Buildtech by mortgaging the latter's property to a bank.
A bench of Justice C Hari Shankar, in an interim order on Thursday, restrained Ajnara India and its subsidiary from creating any further third-party interests in its project Times Square and the land admeasuring 7,486 square meters in Noida on which the project was to come up.
Further, Ajnara India and its subsidiary were asked to explain why they should not be directed to secure an amount of around Rs 50.51 crores that is admittedly owed to RR Buildtown.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for RR Buildtown, submitted that Ajnara India had taken approximately Rs 34 crores from RR Buildtown to co-develop the land in Noida commercially in the year 2015.
The project called Times Square was to be a major commercial hub, However, despite taking money from RR Buildtown, Ajnara India did not start any work on the project.
Aggarwal also pointed out that Ajnara India had mortgaged the Times Squad land to Punjab National Bank Housing Finance for a loan of Rs 45 crores even though the market value of the land was around Rs 140 crores.
Further, this loan was taken without the consent of RR Buildtown even though it owned 45 per cent equity in the SPV with Ajnara India and had two directors on the SPV's board, the lawyer said adding that as such the bank could not grant the loan itself.
The plea contended that Ajnara India and its subsidiary were each other's alter ego so much so that their registered addresses and email IDs were also the same and this was a fit case for the lifting of the corporate veil.
"Moreover, when the Rs 45 crores were disbursed by the Punjab National Bank Housing Finance, only Rs 10 crores was kept in the SPV which owned the Times Square land and Rs 35 crores were given to Ajnara India for its own benefit," the plea said.
It said that in view of Ajnara's precarious financial position as well as its default in compliances across the board, they may even default on their loans taken from the bank and put the property of RR Buildtown itself at risk of foreclosure.
