NCLT admitted an insolvency petition filed by homebuyers, holding that the corporate debtor failed to disprove the existence of 540 homebuyer units, thereby meeting the threshold under IBC.
Homebuyers’ Insolvency Petition Admitted Based on 540-Unit Threshold
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an insolvency petition filed by homebuyers against a real estate developer over a default of ₹3.43 crore. The key factor in admission was the corporate debtor’s failure to rebut the claimed baseline of 540 residential units—central to establishing homebuyers as a 'class' under the IBC.
The petitioners, acting as representative applicants, demonstrated that the project had launched over 540 units, satisfying the numerical threshold required for homebuyers to qualify as financial creditors. The corporate debtor offered no credible evidence to dispute this, leading the Tribunal to conclude that the application was maintainable.
Implication: This reaffirms the evidentiary burden on developers to contest homebuyer-based petitions. Legal teams representing homebuyers should meticulously document unit counts, allotment letters, and payment trails to strengthen petitions. The ruling reinforces IBC protections for homebuyers in stalled projects.
