Parth Pawar Pune Land Case: Tehsildar, Sub-Registrar Suspended; 3-Member Committee To Probe Deal

In a major development in the Pune land deal case involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth, the Maharashtra government has suspended tehsildar Suryakant Yewale and sub-registrar Ravindra Taru.

Speaking on the matter, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a probe has been ordered into the allegations of irregularities in the land deal.

“I have sought all the information. A probe has also been ordered, which will bring out the truth in this matter,” said Fadnavis.

"I don't think Ajit Pawar would back his son if irregularities are found in the matter," the CM added.

The sub-registrar’s office allegedly waived the stamp duty of ₹21 crore for the registration of a 40-acre land sale in Pune's Mundhwa area worth ₹300 crore to Amedea Enterprises LLP, with Parth Pawar as a partner, in May this year.

Allegations are also surfacing that the actual worth of the land was ₹1,800 crore and it was bought for only ₹300 crore. Besides, allegations say that instead of charging ₹21 crore stamp duty, only ₹500 was taken.

Earlier in the day, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Vijay Kumbhar on Thursday took to X (formerly Twitter) and claimed that a land parcel in Pune's upmarket Mundhwa area was allegedly purchased for about ₹300 crore by a company linked to Parth Pawar, son of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, despite its market rate being "considerably higher." Kumbhar also claimed that "the stamp duty of ₹21 crore on this deal was waived." "Why are some people more equal than others?" he asked in his post.

Kumbhar wrote, "A land deal worth ₹300 crore was registered in Mundhwa, Pune. As per the prevailing rate, the stamp duty payable was around ₹21 crore, but why was it waived off? Was it because the buyer happens to be the son of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar? When a common man buys a small flat, he pays lakhs in stamp duty. Then how do the ultra-rich get 'special exemptions' on crores worth of land? One rule for the powerful, another for the people?"

Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, meanwhile, demanded a judicial inquiry into the land deal, claiming that it was done in violation of the law.

"The purchase of land by the company of Parth Pawar, son of Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, must be investigated in a transparent manner. This is government land, and it was sold without any decision from the Revenue Department in this matter. The transaction should be cancelled, and action must be taken against whoever is responsible in this case," Wadettiwar said.