MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) to explain why deputy chief minister Suntera Pawar’s son and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar has not been named as an accused in the Mundhwa land deal case, although he owns 99% of Amadea Enterprises LLP, which purchased the 40-acre plot.
A single judge bench of justice Madhav Jamdar issued the directions while hearing an anticipatory bail plea filed by Pune tehsildar Suryakant Gulabrao Yewale, accused of misusing his power to issue illegal orders granting ownership rights to Amadea Enterprises.
The company, jointly owned by Parth and his cousin Digvijay Patil, had purchased the government-owned Mahar Watan land parcel valued at ₹1,800 crore for just ₹300 crore, although it was not allowed to be sold to a private party. The sale agreement was executed on May 20 last year with Shital Tejwani, a Pune resident and power-of-attorney holder for 272 people to whom the government land had been transferred. The company had paid just ₹500 as stamp duty after seeking an exemption of ₹21 crore, citing plans to set up a data centre on the site.
So far, the police have named Digvijay Patil, suspended sub-registrar Ravindra Taru, tehsildar Suryakant Yewale, and power of attorney holder Shital Tejwani as accused in the first information report and charge-sheet. On Monday, Yewale’s lawyer, Harshad Nimbalkar, submitted that he was not involved in the alleged crime. But the state opposed the plea and submitted that Yewale was involved in the crime, after which the court clarified that the ad-interim protection granted to him would remain in operation till the next date of hearing.
After the court was informed that Parth Pawar had not been made an accused “as he is very highly influential and the son of the Deputy Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra”, the single judge bench directed the DGP and the investigating officer to explain within two weeks why Parth had not been named as an accused.
The next hearing is scheduled on September 28.
