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Lavasa hill station project: Sharad Pawar moves HC, opposes PIL seeking CBI probe against family for alleged irregularities
Jadhav alleged that the project was sanctioned under political influence and violated environmental norms, affecting the socio-economic status of surrounding villages. He accused Ajit Pawar, the minister for irrigation at the time, of granting clearance to the project
MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar has moved the Bombay high court seeking to intervene in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate that makes serious allegations against the Pawar family in connection with permissions granted for the Lavasa project in Pune district.
The PIL sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged illegal permissions granted for the construction of the hill station after the registration of an FIR against Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule, and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
In response to the PIL, Pawar has filed an intervention application through his advocate Joel Carlos, requesting to be included as a respondent in the PIL. This would allow him to present his arguments against the ‘problematic’ allegations made in the petition. A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and Arif S Doctor after considering Pawar’s application, granted the petitioner lawyer, Nanasaheb Jadhav, two weeks to respond to Pawar’s intervention.
Jadhav had originally filed the PIL in December 2022, seeking a CBI investigation into the alleged illegal permissions for the Lavasa hill station project. He claimed that despite his earlier PIL being rejected by the High Court due to delays, he was compelled to approach the court again as the Pune police did not take action on his complaint.
Jadhav alleged that the project was sanctioned under political influence and violated environmental norms, affecting the socio-economic status of surrounding villages. He accused Ajit Pawar, the minister for irrigation at the time, of granting clearance to the project.
Pawar’s intervention application argued that the issues raised in the PIL had already been addressed and disposed of by the high court in previous proceedings. Pawar asserted that he needed to be included as a respondent to ensure a fair resolution of the PIL, considering the serious allegations against him.
During the hearing, Pawar’s advocate, Aspi Chinoy, opposed the PIL, highlighting that essential facts were not disclosed by the petitioner. Chinoy pointed out that a similar civil PIL had been previously filed and rejected by another HC bench, which is now pending before the Supreme Court. He argued that the petitioner was guilty of suppressing crucial information and should be bound by the principles of constructive res judicata.
Constructive Res Judicata implies that the matter that might and ought to have been raised in a suit but has not been raised cannot be taken up in a subsequent suit.
The PIL filed in 2022 implicated not only Sharad Pawar but also his daughter Supriya Sule and the current deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. In its 2022 order, the high court acknowledged concerns about the alleged exertion of influence by the Pawars but dismissed the PIL due to significant delays in filing it. The court expressed apprehension about the exploitation of India’s natural resources but found the timing of the petition to be problematic.