<h3>Overview</h3>
<p>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="Supreme Court — India's apex judicial body, final interpreter of the Constitution (GS2: Polity)">Supreme Court</span> on 28 May 2026 issued notices to the Union Government and the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Enforcement Directorate (ED) — Agency that enforces the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and investigates money‑laundering cases (GS3: Economy)">Enforcement Directorate</span> (ED) in a writ petition filed by a Jaypee homebuyer. The petitioner seeks a court‑monitored probe into alleged diversion of about <strong>Rs 14,599 crore</strong> collected from more than 21,000 homebuyers in the <strong>Jaypee Wishtown</strong> project, Noida.</p>
<h3>Key Developments</h3>
<ul>
<li>Notice issued by a bench of <strong>CJI Surya Kant</strong> and <strong>Justice Joymalya Bagchi</strong>, returnable on 15 July 2026.</li>
<li>Notice also sent to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, <span class="key-term" data-definition="Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — India's central bank responsible for monetary policy, banking regulation and financial stability (GS3: Economy)">RBI</span>, UP RERA, and several Jaypee entities.</li>
<li>Advocate <strong>Prashant Bhushan</strong> highlighted that the ED suspects <strong>Rs 13,833 crore</strong> of the collected amount was diverted for non‑construction purposes.</li>
<li>The petitioner, <strong>Vandana Sabharwal</strong>, booked a unit in the “Kasablanca” project but has received neither possession nor refund after more than a decade.</li>
<li>ED’s prosecution complaint (8 Jan 2026) alleges that the diversion was orchestrated by <strong>Manoj Gaur</strong>, Executive Chairman of <strong>Jaypee Associates Ltd (JAL)</strong>, who was arrested on 13 Nov 2025.</li>
<li>Only about <strong>Rs 400 crore</strong> has been provisionally attached by the ED so far.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Important Facts</h3>
<p>The petition cites multiple channels of fund diversion, including transfers to other Jaypee group entities, undervalued sale of land to external developers, and non‑compliance with <span class="key-term" data-definition="Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) — Statute that safeguards home‑buyer interests, mandates escrow accounts and project disclosures (GS3: Economy)">RERA</span> requirements. Despite ED searches at 15 locations on 23 May 2025, no supplementary prosecution complaint or attachment proceedings have been initiated against five external developer groups.</p>
<p>Reliefs sought include:
<ul>
<li>Direction to the ED to complete investigation of five identified “external developer transaction clusters” within 90 days and file periodic status reports.</li>
<li>Supervisory audit by the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — India's central bank responsible for monetary policy, banking regulation and financial stability (GS3: Economy)">RBI</span> of banks’ exposure to real‑estate projects and end‑use monitori
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