The Supreme Court on Monday asked Unitech to deposit Rs 750 crore by the end of December to pay apartment buyers who have demanded refunds worth Rs 1,865 crore. The bench said it will consider granting bail to the company’s managing director Sanjay Chandra (pictured above) only after the money is deposited in the Supreme Court’s registry.

Amicus curiae Pawan Shree Agrawal told the court that Unitech will need around Rs 2,000 crore to refund or allot flats to all the home buyers. The bench also asked other courts to refrain from taking coercive action against Unitech or Chandra based on complaints filed by home buyers. It said the case will only be heard by the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra had earlier asked buyers to specify whether they wanted to seek possession of property or a refund of their money. On October 23, he had told the court that the company owes over Rs 7,800 crore to 16,300 home buyers across 61 projects. The top court had said that Chandra will have to deposit at least Rs 1,000 crore to be released on bail.

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.