HC declares two arrests of Sheetal Tejwani illegal in Mundhwa land fraud case

The Bombay High Court declared Sheetal Tejwani's arrest in two FIRs illegal, granting her bail, but denied relief in a third case involving loan fraud.

MUMBAI: In a major reprieve for businesswoman Sheetal Tejwani, arrested in connection with the high-profile Mundhwa Mahar Watan land fraud case, the Bombay High Court on Friday declared her arrest by Pune police in two FIRs illegal and ordered her release on bail.

HC declares two arrests of Sheetal Tejwani illegal in Mundhwa land fraud case

Tejwani, 44, however, will not walk out of jail immediately, as the single-judge bench of Justice NJ Jamadar rejected her separate plea seeking similar relief in a third FIR.

Tejwani is facing three criminal cases registered by Pune police. Two of them, at Khadak and Bavdhan police stations, relate to the alleged illegal sale of 41 acres of state government land in Mundhwa. The case concerns Mahar Watan land, historically linked to hereditary service grants, ownership of which is legally disputed and has triggered allegations of large-scale fraud.

According to investigators, 272 alleged holders of the land, valued at around ₹1,800 crore at prevailing market rates, sold the prime parcel to Amadea Enterprises LLP for ₹300 crore through Tejwani, who acted as their power of attorney holder. The firm counts Parth Pawar, son of deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, among its partners.

Police have alleged that neither the 272 “watandars” nor Tejwani had any lawful title over the property.

The third case against Tejwani was registered at Pimpri police station in 2019. It pertains to allegations that she obtained six loans from the fraud-hit Seva Vikas Co-operative Bank and defaulted on repayment of ₹20.49 crore.

After the Mundhwa land controversy surfaced, Tejwani was first arrested on December 3, 2025, in the Khadak police case. She was then arrested in the Bavdhan case on December 16 and in the Pimpri case on January 5, 2026.

She moved the high court through three separate petitions challenging her arrests and remand orders passed by magistrate courts.

Justice Jamadar allowed two of the petitions, holding that her arrests in the Bavdhan and Pimpri cases were illegal as the grounds of arrest had not been furnished to her or her representative. The court ordered her release on bail on a personal bond of ₹50,000 with one or two sureties of the same amount.

“The purpose of communicating the grounds of arrest to the detenue and to his relatives is not merely a formality but to enable the detained person to know the reasons for his arrest but also to provide the necessary opportunity to him through his relatives, friends or nominated persons to secure his release at the earliest,” the court said.

However, the court dismissed her plea challenging the first arrest in the Khadak police station case.

Her counsel, advocates Ajay Bhise and Deepali Kedar, argued that the grounds of arrest were supplied hours after she was detained and were recorded in Marathi, despite police allegedly knowing she did not understand the language.

Justice Jamadar, however, noted that Tejwani had executed several documents in Marathi, including at least 77 power of attorney documents linked to the Mundhwa land and 47 development agreements with different landowners.

The court further noted that notices issued to her under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were also in Marathi, and she had responded to them by appearing before police and submitting documents. It also observed that she never complained before the magistrate during remand proceedings that she did not understand Marathi.

“Thus, the claim of the petitioner that the constitutional mandate was not strictly complied with as the grounds of arrest were not furnished to the petitioner in the language she understood, cannot be acceded to,” Justice Jamadar said while dismissing the plea.