On June 6, 2018, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance was passed, which was replaced by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Act, 2018 (“2018 Amendment Act”) on August 17, 2018. By way of the said amendment, an explanation of Section 5(8)(f) of the IBC was added, which provides a definition of “financial debt”. It was clarified that the amount raised from an allottee under a real estate project shall be deemed to be an amount having the commercial effect of a borrowing. It was further clarified that the expressions “allottee” and “real estate project” shall have the meanings assigned to them under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (“RERA”). As a result, Homebuyers/allottees were expressly recognized as financial creditors under the IBC, which enabled them to start corporate insolvency resolution proceedings (“CIRP”) against a defaulting developer under Section 7 of the IBC. It may be noted that homebuyers have been recognized as allottees under RERA. [See Section 2(d)].
The 2018 Amendment Act was challenged before the Supreme Court in Pioneer Urban Land and Infrastructure Limited v. Union of India on the grounds of it being violative of Article 14 and Article 19(1)(g) read with Article 19(6) of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court rejected the challenges and upheld the constitutional validity of the 2018 Amendment Act. The Supreme Court on reading and interpreting Section 5(8)(f) of the IBC, observed that Homebuyers/allottees were included in the main provision i.e. Section 5(8)(f) from the very inception of the Code, the Explanation being added in 2018 merely to clarify doubts that had arisen in relation the status of Homebuyers. Therefore, the Court held that the 2018 Amendment Act does not infringe Article 14 and Article 19(1)(g) read with Article 19(6), or 300-A of the Constitution of India.