The Supreme Court on Monday said Unitech’s Managing Director Sanjay Chandra (pictured above) needed to deposit at least Rs 1,000 crore to be allowed bail, ANI reported. The money would be used to pay flat buyers who have demanded refunds, Mint reported.

Over 4,600 buyers have claimed refunds, worth Rs 1,865 crore, from the real estate developer for flats it could not deliver in time, amicus curiae Pawan Shree Agrawal told the court. Chief Justice Dipak Misra had last month asked buyers to specify whether they wanted to seek possession of property or a refund of their money.

The company owes over Rs 7,800 crore to 16,300 home buyers across 61 projects, but not all of them submitted their preference, Agrawal said. The court suggested that the company could raise the money by auctioning partially completed flats.

Arguing for Chandra, former solicitor general Ranjit Kumar said refunding the money would be difficult if he is not allowed to come out of jail. “Allow him to come out for four weeks and the court may appoint a committee of lawyers to monitor the recovery process,” Kumar said.

The court will hear the case next on October 30.

The company is facing multiple cases filed by flat buyers who Chandra is alleged to have duped. The Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police arrested Chandra and his brother Ajay earlier this year for allegedly cheating buyers and siphoning off clients’ money to foreign accounts. The realty firm also failed to complete housing projects in Greater Noida and Gurugram on time and the company’s management did not refund the money along with the interest.