DLF shares fell over 5 per cent on Wednesday after the Supreme Court directed the realty major to deposit Rs. 630 crore in the next three months, while the court hears its petition against a Competition Commission of India order fining it for alleged unfair business practices.
DLF has been ordered to pay Rs. 50 crore within three weeks and the balance Rs. 580 crore in three months. The money will have to paid to the Supreme Court registry which will deposit it in a national bank.
Rs. 630 crore is the fine that the competition commission imposed on DLF after it found the company guilty of violating fair trade norms in 2011. DLF challenged the decision, but in May 2014, the Competition Appellate Tribunal upheld the penalty imposed on the developer, which then moved the Supreme Court.
If the company wins its case, the money will be refunded to it, the court ruled.
The competition regulator had begun investigations in 2010, based on a complaint filed by an association of apartment owners in Gurgaon. They had complained against delays in completing a project and alleged that DLF increased the number of floors from what was initially planned, among other things.
DLF, India’s biggest developer, is struggling under the burden of huge debt. At the end of the June quarter, it had a total debt of over Rs. 18,000 crore.
Shares in the company closed 4.6 per cent lower at Rs. 182.90. DLF was the top loser in the 50-share Nifty index and underperformed the broader markets.
