Supreme Court sets priority schedule for Unitech cases, warns Noida authorities on delays

By ADiHomes Published January 22, 2026 2 min read

Watercolour illustration of hands stacking flagged case files on a long wooden table

Contents

What the court said

On 22 January 2026 a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan set a priority schedule for hearing the many applications in the Unitech case. The bench said that state authorities – including the Noida and Greater Noida authorities and Haryana’s town and country planning department – must grant all requisite permissions, and that it would take a serious view of any non-compliance with its earlier orders. It asked the authorities’ counsel to ensure timely approvals so the company can raise funds by selling unused inventory.

The court clarified that it was fixing the order of hearings, not deciding the applications.

Background

The Supreme Court took control of Unitech in 2020, replacing the founding family with a government-nominated board.
In January 2025 it exempted ongoing Unitech projects from RERA registration until further orders and directed environmental clearances for Noida projects.
Noida Authority has been in dispute with Unitech over large unpaid land dues and over the company’s use of vacant land in Sectors 96-98, 113 and 117.
In May 2026 the court appointed an independent agency to examine valuation and sale of Unitech’s assets and approved a new CMD.

What it means for buyers

Unitech buyers in Noida, Greater Noida and Gurugram have waited a decade or more. The court’s direction to authorities is meant to remove one bottleneck – approvals – but funding and land disputes remain. Projects in Greater Noida such as Unitech Horizon, Habitat and Cascades, and Gurugram projects in Sectors 33, 47, 50 and 70-71, have different histories: some are complete with registry issues, others still under construction.

What to check

Your project’s status in the board’s latest updates to the court.
Whether your loan account was classified as NPA due to the delay – the court has examined such cases.
Registry and OC status for completed towers.
Announcements on asset sales, which fund construction.

Why it has taken so long

The Unitech case combines several hard problems at once: money collected from buyers that was diverted, large dues to development authorities, disputes over land the company never developed, criminal cases against former promoters, and lenders with their own claims. The court-appointed board can only complete projects as fast as money and approvals allow, which is why the court has focused on approvals and on selling unused assets.