Shocking: Bombay High Court on not booking MP Parth Pawar in Mundhwa Land Scam despite 99% stake

The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked the Maharashtra government why Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar has been excluded as an accused in the Mundhwa land scam case despite him holding 99 percent stake in the purchasing firm, Amadea Enterprises LLP [Suryakant Yewale v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.].

The remarks were made by Justice Madhav Jamdar who was hearing an anticipatory bail plea of suspended Pune city Tehsildar Suryakant Yewale, one of the accused in the land scam case.

The judge granted bail to the officer, but questioned the investigating officer’s decision to omit Pawar from the accused list.

The Court noted that Digvijay Patil with 1 percent stake was an accused while Pawar who held 99 percent was not.

The Court observed that the Investigating Officer's affidavit had gone to the extent of stating that Parth Pawar with 99 percent shareholding was not responsible while Patil with 1 percent stake was.

“Your stand as the Investigating Officer (IO) is that the person who is having 99 percent shareholding is not responsible and the one who is accused is the person having 1 percent shareholding. Is the person who is having 99 percent share, Parth Pawar, not a beneficiary of this transaction? What is shocking is that the investigating officer has filed an affidavit stating that a person with 99 percent is not responsible but the person having 1 percent share is responsible,” the judge remarked.

The probe concerns the alleged unauthorized sale of a 40-acre government plot in Mundhwa to Amadea Enterprises for ₹300 crore. The land was leased to the Botanical Survey of India.

The Director General of Police of Maharashtra stated in an affidavit that there is a need for a more professional and detailed investigation. 

The Court issued instructions to the Pune Police Commissioner to conduct further investigation, review progress and submit a report within six weeks.