SC came down heavily on real estate honchos
Corporate legal battle involving big business houses like ArcelorMittal and Numetal on taking over of Essar Steel and tough stand against the automobile industry on emission norms kept the Supreme Court busy in 2018 during which it also gave a body blow to real estate honchos. Be it real estate majors Unitech Ltd, Jaypee Group and Amrapali or others, all had to bear the brunt of the apex court for taking for ride ordinary citizens whose hard earned money was at stake. The year gone by saw Unitech promoters - Sanjay and Ajay Chandra failing to get relief from the top court. Amrapali boss Anil Sharma and two directors being put under police surveillance. The Jaypee Group also had a tough time this year as investors put pressure for possession of their delayed flats. Amid the legal developments in the real estate sector, a big corporate battle was seen in the top court when steel and mining major ArcelorMittal approached it challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order which had held that Numetal'sRs 37,000 crore offer in second-round bid for Essar Steel was valid. Sahara Group, was also in the news in the Supreme Court throughout the year over the issue of depositing money in the SEBI-SAHARA account for which it has been facing tough time for over six years. The year gone by also saw the apex court delivering a significant verdict when it held that courts can scrutinize the rates of interest being charged by banks from farmers in states where debt relief laws are in place to deal with rural indebtedness. In a judgement having far-reaching consequences, the top court held that foreign lawyers, law firms and companies cannot practice legal profession in India.
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