The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed realty firm Jaiprakash Associates Limited to pay Rs 600 crore, instead of Rs 1,000 crore ordered earlier, to refund the principal amount to home buyers, PTI reported.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that after the amount is deposited with the apex court registry, it would ask the National Company Law Tribunal at Allahabad to expeditiously decide the firm’s plea plea to revive or restructure its subsidiary firm – Jaypee Infratech Limited.

On May 16, the bench directed JAL to deposit Rs 1,000 crore by June 15, in addition to Rs 750 crore already deposited, in order to provide refunds to the home buyers who had wished to opt out of its various housing schemes. “This case of home buyers’ can be disposed of if they [JAL] deposit Rs 600 crore for refund of the principal amount,” the bench said.

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The apex court asked senior advocate FS Nariman, who is representing the company, to take instructions from Jaiprakash Associates Limited and inform the court on July 13, the next date of hearing, about the company’s stand on depositing Rs 600 crore with it.

The amount is part of the Rs 2,000 crore that the court had ordered the firm to deposit with its registry to ensure that people who had invested in homes constructed by the firm receive a refund.

Several home buyers had sought the court’s intervention after the National Company Law Tribunal allowed insolvency proceedings against Jaypee Infratech. In January, the Reserve Bank of India had asked the Supreme Court to initiate insolvency proceedings against the firm.

On September 4, the Supreme Court stayed the bankruptcy proceedings after home buyers told it they would lose all their money and asked the court to protect their interests. Their plea claimed that home buyers, who are unsecured creditors, will get nothing out of the bankruptcy proceedings as dues of financial institutions would be cleared first.