Dedicated locality research platform
Dedicated locality research platform
Enter your email address and you will receive
a link to reset your password
The Orissa High Court has recently issued a fresh set of orders to the competent authority, specifically the additional district magistrate (ADM) in Cuttack, under the provisions of the Odisha Protection of Interest of Depositors (OPID) Act. These orders pertain to initiating the refund process for investors who had deposited amounts not exceeding Rs 8,000 with two entities, namely GLP Developers Limited and Golden Land Developers Limited.
These two companies, operating in the realm of deposit collection and real estate, have been embroiled in a controversy involving the alleged collection of a substantial sum amounting to Rs 590.68 crore. This significant amount was purportedly gathered through their branch offices situated in various locations, including Balugaon, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Bhanjanagar, Paralakhemundi, and Bhawanipatna.
The recent order, delivered by a single-judge bench presided over by Justice Biswanath Rath, was issued on September 1st. It serves as a modification of a previous order dated May 20, 2022, which had directed the competent authority to oversee the refund process specifically for small investors with investments of up to Rs 10,000.
The legal battle surrounding these matters has been ongoing since 2021 when GLP Developers Limited and Golden Land Developers Limited filed a petition with the Orissa High Court. The crux of their complaint rested on the assertion that, despite substantial sums being collected from chit fund companies by the state government, there was a glaring failure to disburse the due amounts to the identified depositors.
This delay in refunding the investors had led to growing discontent among depositors, precipitating protests in some instances, including sit-ins and even attacks on the offices of the deposit collection companies, as per the claims made in the petition.
The Orissa High Court had regarded these allegations with utmost seriousness, as evidenced by the issuance of the initial order on May 20, 2022, which sought to address the pressing issue of delayed refunds.
However, the recent modification of the order on September 1st came about as a result of a pivotal development. Senior advocate Milan Kanungo, who was representing the petitioners, brought to the court's attention a clarification and suggestion made by the competent authority regarding the practical implementation of the court's May 20th order.
The competent authority had proposed a feasible approach, suggesting that there could be an equitable distribution of Rs 8,000 to each identified investor falling within the category of small depositors who were included in the refund process. This distribution would be facilitated based on the recovered funds available to the competent authority.
In light of this suggestion, Justice Rath rendered the modified order on September 1st, specifying, "It is in partial modification of the order dated 20.05.2022, this court directs the competent authority to complete the release proceeding in favour of the identified investors/depositors at least to the tune of Rs. 8,000 each."
Moreover, the court further emphasized the need for the complete disbursal of the allotted amounts within a period of two months from the date of communication of this order to the petitioner. Kanungo also highlighted that payments of Rs 10,000 each had already been made in favour of over 15,000 depositors.
This recent development represents a significant step forward in addressing the long-standing issues surrounding the refund of deposits to small investors and depositors affected by the operations of GLP Developers Limited and Golden Land Developers Limited. The court's modified order aims to provide timely relief to these investors who had been awaiting the return of their investments.
Propscience is India’s dedicated property news portal. We cover the latest events, news, trends, deals, new launches and more.
All our services and tools are completely free of cost and available 24X7!
