The Bombay High Court raised serious questions about the police’s role in the controversial land deal in Pune, asking whether the police were protecting the Deputy Chief Minister’s son and only investigating others.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday raised sharp questions regarding a controversial land deal in Pune, suggesting that the police might be trying to protect Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son, Parth Pawar, as his name is not included in the FIR.

Justice Madhav Jamdar’s single bench raised this pointed question during the hearing of an anticipatory bail application filed by businesswoman Sheetal Tejwani. Justice Jamdar asked whether the police were protecting the Deputy Chief Minister’s son and only investigating the others. The government lawyer responded that the police would act according to the law.

The case involves 40 acres of land
The case pertains to 40 acres of land in the Mundhwa area of ​​Pune. The land was sold for Rs 300 crore to a firm called Amedia Enterprises LLP, in which Parth Pawar is a 99 percent partner. The firm was allegedly also granted an exemption of Rs 21 crore in stamp duty. It was later discovered that the land was government property and could not have been sold.

Names in the FIR, 2 arrested, 1 absconding
In this case, the IGR (Inspector General of Registration) committee report has so far implicated Digvijay Patil, Sheetal Tejwani, and Ravindra Taru. The Pune police registered an FIR against all of them. Sheetal Tejwani and Ravindra Taru have been arrested, while Digvijay Patil is absconding. Digvijay is Parth Pawar’s business partner and cousin. Sheetal is the power of attorney holder on behalf of the land sellers, and Ravindra Taru is a sub-registrar officer. The investigation took a turn when the investigating officer stated that Parth Pawar’s name was not mentioned in any document, and therefore he was not named in the FIR.

Sheetal Tejwani’s arrest and the second FIR
Sheetal Tejwani was arrested on December 3 by the Pune Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). She is in police custody until December 11. She filed an anticipatory bail application in the High Court after a second FIR was registered against her at the Bavdhan police station in connection with the same case. Tejwani’s lawyers, Rajiv Chavan and Ajay Bhise, argued that filing a second FIR in the same case was wrong, especially since the first FIR was already under investigation. The government lawyer stated that Tejwani had already sought anticipatory bail in the Sessions Court, and therefore, seeking similar relief in the High Court amounted to an abuse of the legal process.

When the court indicated that it would dismiss the petition, Tejwani’s lawyers withdrew it. Sheetal Tejwani’s petition stated that the land deal was legally registered and completely valid. The FIR did not contain the essential elements of a cognizable offense. She had merely acted under a power of attorney on behalf of the landowners. Filing a second FIR in the same case was wrong and against the law.

The case has taken a political turn.
The opposition alleges that the land belonged to the “Mahar Watan” category and its actual value is far more than Rs. 300 crore. Mahar Watan is a traditional system under which land was granted to the Mahar community (Scheduled Caste) in exchange for services rendered to the village administration. Such land cannot be sold without prior permission from the government. As the political controversy escalated, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stated that Parth Pawar and his partners were unaware that the land was government land. He added that the disputed deal has now been canceled.