Pune land deal: ‘Is Parth Pawar, with 99% stake, not a beneficiary?’ asks HC

The bench made its remarks after the Maharashtra DGP filed an affidavit in response to Yewale’s submission in his plea that Pawar was not named an accused in the case because he was a highly influential person

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday questioned the Maharashtra police over its decision not to name Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar as an accused in the controversial Pune land deal case despite the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader holding a 99% stake in the company that bought a government land parcel in the upscale Mundhwa area at a heavily discounted price.

Mumbai, India – March 05, 2026: NCP Rajya Sabha candidate Parth Pawar at Vidhan Bhavan to file his Nomination, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sunetra Pawar and other Party Leaders, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, March 05, 2026. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/ Hindustan Times)

Addressing Maharashtra director general of police (DGP) Sadanand Date orally, a single-judge bench of justice Madhav Jamdar said, “Your stand as investigating officer is that the person who is having 99% shareholding is not responsible, and the one who is accused is the person having 1% shareholding. Is the person who is having 99% share, Parth Pawar, not a beneficiary of this transaction?”

The court posed this question to Date while granting pre-arrest bail to Pune tehsildar Suryakant Yewale, who was named an accused in the case for allegedly misusing his official position to facilitate the controversial transaction. Yewale has denied any role in the transaction and claimed he was falsely implicated.

The 1% shareholder the court referred to is Digvijay Patil, one of the prime accused in the case and a partner at Amadea Enterprises LLP, a Pune-based firm at the centre of the controversy. Parth Pawar, son of deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, owns 99% of the firm, but was omitted from the FIR.

The bench made its remarks after the Maharashtra DGP filed an affidavit in response to Yewale’s submission in his plea that Pawar was not named an accused in the case because he was a highly influential person.

In his affidavit filed on September 24, DGP Date told the high court that following a “detailed scrutiny” of the investigation papers, “on certain points, there is definitely [a] need for more professional and detailed investigation”.

Date also assured the court that his office would monitor the investigation and make all necessary efforts to ensure that the Pune police vigorously pursue all available leads.

“In order to ensure comprehensive investigation against each of the named accused and other suspects, a detailed set of instructions have been issued to the Commissioner of Police, Pune City,” the DGP’s affidavit stated. Due to “the sensitivity of the matter and concerns expressed regarding the investigation,” the Pune police commissioner has also been instructed to review the investigation’s progress every week and submit a report to the DGP’s office after six weeks, the affidavit added.

The case pertains to alleged attempts by Amadia Enterprises to acquire a 40-acre Mahar watan government land parcel in Mundhwa, at a heavily discounted price. Valued at ₹1,800 crore, the land parcel was allegedly sold for ₹300 crore, with a ₹21 crore stamp duty exemption. Mahar watan is a historical classification of land in Maharashtra granted to the Mahar community. It cannot legally be sold or transferred without explicit state permission.

Apart from Yewale, the police have so far named Digvijay Patil, suspended sub-registrar Ravindra Taru, and power-of-attorney holder Shital Tejwani as the accused in the first information report and the subsequent charge sheet.

With inputs from PTI