GURUGRAM/FARIDABAD: For nearly two decades, thousands of homebuyers waited for homes that never arrived. This week, Indian investigators moved to secure land they say was bought with their money.
The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached hundreds of acres of land across northern India in a long-running real estate case that traces back to projects launched before the global financial crisis. At the centre of the investigation is ADEL Landmarks Ltd., formerly known as Era Landmarks Ltd., and its promoters, Hem Singh Bharana and Sumit Bharana, whom authorities accuse of diverting homebuyers’ funds and failing to deliver promised housing.
According to officials, the action follows years of complaints, criminal cases and stalled construction that left thousands of families without homes, refunds or clarity.
Funds Collected, Projects Left Incomplete
Investigators say the company launched multiple residential group housing projects between 2006 and 2012 in Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal in Haryana. Across eight projects — including Cosmocourt, Cosmocity-I, Cosmocity-III, Skyville, Redwood Residency, Era Green World, Era Divine Court and ADEL Divine Court — the developer collected about ₹1,075 crore as advance booking amounts from 4,771 customers.
Despite the scale of the collections, the projects remain incomplete, the agency said. Flats and units promised to buyers were not delivered even after delays ranging from 12 to 19 years, forming the basis of dozens of criminal complaints and civil disputes.
Allegations of Diversion and Dishonoured Refunds
According to the Enforcement Directorate, promoters diverted “substantial” portions of the funds collected from homebuyers to group companies. The money, investigators allege, was routed as advances for the purchase of land parcels and for other purposes unrelated to completing the promised housing projects.
As delays mounted, aggrieved customers sought refunds. The company issued cheques to some buyers, officials said, but many of these were later dishonoured for various reasons, deepening financial losses and triggering further legal action.
Project Changes and Erosion of Promised Amenities
The agency also alleges that the developer unilaterally altered project plans and licensed land areas. In some cases, the originally approved land was reduced, which officials say led to the denial of basic amenities that had been promised to buyers at the time of booking.
Such changes, investigators contend, compounded the impact of construction delays, leaving buyers with neither completed homes nor the facilities initially advertised.
A Case Built on Dozens of Police Complaints
The money-laundering investigation stems from 74 first information reports and chargesheets filed by Haryana and Delhi police. These cases accuse the company and its promoters of cheating numerous homebuyers through repeated failures to deliver flats and residential units.
On Friday, authorities issued a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, covering about 340 acres of land located in Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal and Bahadurgarh in Haryana, as well as Meerut and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The total value of the attached land is estimated at ₹585.46 crore.
Officials said the attached assets include hundreds of acres spread across multiple districts, marking one of the more extensive property attachments in a real estate-linked money-laundering case in recent years.
