New Delhi, Aug. 17: The Supreme Court today said builders could not "play with the lives of citizens" by delaying possession of flats as it directed Unitech to deposit Rs 15 crore with the court's registry while it decides an appeal by the real estate giant.

The court said that prima facie it was "inclined to grant" a refund of the principal amount to 31 flat owners who had invested in the company's Vistara project in Gurgaon, on Delhi's outskirts, but would hear further arguments in October.

"You cannot play with the lives of citizens. We are deeply pained by your attitude," Justice Dipak Misra, who was heading the bench that also included Justice U.U. Lalit, told senior counsel Kapil Sibal who appeared for the company.

The court asked Unitech to deposit Rs 5 crore within two weeks and the remaining amount by September.

The bench was dealing with an appeal filed by Unitech challenging an order passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in June 2015. The NCDRC had directed the company to pay 12 per cent interest on the cost of each flat for failing to deliver possession till date, although it had promised to do so in 2012.

The flats cost around Rs 50-60 lakh each and the consumer forum had passed the order after the aggrieved buyers had approached it.

Sibal, who opposed any directive from the court, said the company was willing to pay rentals for the aggrieved buyers, but the bench shot down the suggestion.

"Any order of refund will cause a run on the company. All will then get out. All the others will flee. We will be arrested and sent to jail. What will happen?" he asked.

Sibal also said any adverse order passed by the court would prompt other buyers to seek similar relief against the company.

The bench remained unmoved. "First return their principal. You can't complete the project. You won't return their money. You can't play with the psyche of the people. We will not allow you to play with the lives of citizens," it said.

When one of the buyers said the court should not only direct the company to refund the principal amount but also the interest ordered by the consumer forum, Justice Misra said: "Something is better than nothing."