New Delhi, May 8 -- The Supreme Court has turned its attention once again to the long-running Unitech saga, this time asking the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to place before it a clear picture of where the money laundering prosecution against former promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra stands, and what concrete steps have been taken to recover thousands of crores allegedly transferred from the real estate company even as thousands of homebuyers continue to wait for homes and refunds. At the same time, the court moved to ease the plight of fixed deposit (FD) holders and vulnerable investors, paving the way for release of deposits belonging to deceased investors, senior citizens above the age of 60, and more than 24,000 small FD holders with investments up to Rs.40,000 each. A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan directed ED to appear before it on the next date of hearing and explain the status of the criminal trial against the Chandra brothers, along with the agency's recovery efforts. "On the next date of hearing, we want the Enforcement Directorate to appear before us and furnish us with the details as regards the status of the trial, how they propose to proceed further and what steps have been taken so far against the accused persons for the purpose of recovery of thousands of crores alleged to have been embezzled/misappropriated and laundered," the bench said in its order released earlier this week. The order comes amid mounting concerns over funding shortages for completion of stalled Unitech housing projects across Noida and Greater Noida, where nearly 15,000 residential units across 10 projects remain pending despite homebuyers having invested substantial sums over the years. The court was informed that the government-appointed Board of Management, which took over Unitech in 2020 following allegations of large-scale financial wrongdoing by the erstwhile promoters, continues to face severe financial constraints in executing construction work. The projects include major developments in Noida sectors 96, 97, 98, 113 and 117. Additional solicitor general N Venkataraman, appearing in the matter, had earlier pointed to the findings of a forensic audit which allegedly traced diversion and laundering of nearly Rs.13,000 crore by the Chandra brothers and associated entities. The amount, he submitted, remains substantially "untapped" and ought to form part of the recovery pool available for revival and completion of projects. The ED case dates back to 2018 and arises from at least 62 FIRs registered by nearly 600 homebuyers before the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police. The complaints alleged that Unitech induced buyers to invest in housing projects, only to divert funds for non-project purposes, resulting in massive delays and incomplete developments....