Pune Land Deal Row: Bombay HC Questions If Police Are Protecting Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s Son Parth Pawar; Asks Why He Isn’t Named In FIR

Mumbai, Dec 10: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday questioned whether the police were protecting Parth Pawar, son of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, by not naming him in the ₹300 crore Pune land deal case.

Court Asks If Police Are Shielding DCM’s Son

Justice Madhav Jamdar remarked that Parth Pawar was not named in the FIR. “Is the police protecting the son of the deputy chief minister and only investigating others?” Justice Jamdar asked while hearing a pre-arrest bail plea filed by businesswoman Sheetal Tejwani.

Prosecution Says Probe Still On

Public prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh replied that the police were still investigating the case and necessary action will be taken as per law.

Tejwani Seeks Protection From Arrest In Second FIR

Tejwani, who acted as a power of attorney and signed the documents, had sought protection from arrest in the second FIR registered against her in November by the Bavdhan police station.

Land Bought By Firm Linked To Parth Pawar & Partner

According to the prosecution, firm Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth Pawar and Digvijay Patil are partners, purchased 40 acres of land in prime Mundhwa area of Pune, which was categorised as Mahar watan land.

Defence Argues Second FIR Is Duplicate

Senior advocate Rajiv Chavan and advocate Ajay Bhise, representing Tejwani, argued that this was a second FIR into the same land deal and that the Pune Police’s Economic Offences Wing is also probing the case.

Tejwani Arrested On December 3 In Related FIR

On December 3, Tejwani was arrested in an FIR registered in connection with irregularities in the Mundhwa land deal. The case is being probed by EOW and is presently in police custody.

State Opposes Bail Plea In HC

Deshmukh opposed Tejwani’s plea, arguing that she had already filed a pre-arrest bail plea before the concerned sessions court and hence seeking similar relief from the HC was an abuse of the process of law.

After Justice Jamdar expressed he was not inclined to entertain the plea, Tejwani withdrew the petition.

Tejwani Claims Sale Was Bona Fide Transaction

The businesswoman has claimed the land deal was a bona fide registered sale transaction. Her plea states that the case does not disclose the essential ingredients of any cognisable offence or mens rea (criminal intent) on her as she had acted only as a “constituted Power of Attorney holder of the lawful owners”.

Duplicate FIR & No Criminal Intent, Defence Says

“The same transaction and documents are already under investigation by the Economic Offences Wing, making the second FIR duplicative and oppressive,” her plea contends.

The allegations in the FIR are manifestly civil–revenue in nature, bereft of criminal intent, and founded upon demonstrably incorrect assumptions regarding stamp duty and title, it added.

FIR Alleges Under-Stamping & Illegal Sale Of Watan Land

An FIR was registered for alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust against Digvijay Patil, who is Parth Pawar’s partner in the firm, Tejwani and a suspended sub-registrar of the registrar office.

It alleged that Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth Pawar and Digvijay Patil are partners, purchased 40 acres of land in prime Mundhwa area of Pune, which was categorised as Mahar watan land. The term refers to the hereditary landholding system where the Mahars, a Scheduled Caste community, were forced to provide labour for village administration and the land was given to them as watan, which means a land grant.

Such watan lands, as per the rules, cannot be sold without prior approval from the state government.

Land Valued At ₹294.65 Cr Registered With Only ₹500 Stamp Duty

Complainant Santosh Ashok Hingane, Deputy Inspector General of Registration, has alleged that the land, valued at ₹294.65 crore, was shown with a consideration of ₹300 crore but registered with only ₹500 stamp duty.

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