New Delhi, July 23 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register 22 criminal cases against banks and real estate developers linked to stalled housing projects under the subvention scheme, citing "substantial evidence of an unholy nexus" uncovered by the agency in its ongoing probe.

The CBI, which was directed to investigate the matter by the court on April 29 following petitions from aggrieved homebuyers, submitted an interim report in a sealed cover. The court was informed that the agency had examined seven preliminary enquiries (PEs) into the builder-bank nexus across housing projects in multiple states, with a specific focus on Delhi-NCR.

One PE focused exclusively on developer Supertec...