Overview

• The bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan recognized housing as part of the right to life under Article 21 and said the State must safeguard genuine buyers.
• The judgment issued 12 binding directions, including filling NCLT/NCLAT vacancies on a war footing, creating dedicated real estate insolvency benches, and conducting project‑wise CIRP.
• The Centre was asked to consider a revival fund under NARCL and expansion of the SWAMIH window for bridge financing, with periodic CAG audits to ensure accountability.
• The court mandated safeguards such as escrow accounts for nascent projects, registration of transactions after 20% payment, and verification of applicants to exclude speculative investors.
• Upholding NCLAT in the Greater Noida matter, the court dismissed appeals by buyers it found to be speculative investors and called for stronger, better‑resourced RERA authorities nationwide.