The Bombay High Court on Monday, September 7, directed the Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) and the Investigating Officer (IO) in the Mundhwa land deal case to submit their reply after noting an unattributed submission on why Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar’s son and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar has not been named as an accused in the case.

The court made these observations while hearing an anticipatory bail plea filed by suspended Pune City tehsildar Suryakant Yewale.

The court also noted from the unattributed submissions that while Parth Pawar was spared from being named in the case as “he is very highly influential”, Digvijay Patil – another director of Amadea Enterprises LLP, which purchased the government land – features as an accused in the Mundhwa land deal case.

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Noting the submissions on Parth Pawar and Digvijay Patil without attributing them to any of the specific parties, the court said, “It is submitted that the Company-M/s. Amadea Enterprises LLP, which purchased the Government land measuring 40 acres, has two Directors, namely, Digvijay Patil and Parth Pawar.”

“It is submitted that although said Digvijay Patil has been made accused, said Parth Pawar has not been made an accused as he is very highly influential and the son of the Deputy Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra. In view of the above, the DGP, as also the Investigating Officer, to file replies,” the Bombay High Court bench said.

Mundhwa land deal

It is alleged that the land in Mundhwa, which fell under the category of Mahar Watan land and was leased to the Botanical Survey of India, was sold to Amadea Enterprises, in which Parth Pawar is a partner. The Mundhwa land deal was allegedly done without the approval from the state government.

Earlier, on December 10, while hearing co-accused Sheetal Tejwani’s anticipatory bail plea, Justice Jamdar questioned why police were not investigating Parth Pawar over the land-deal irregularities and asked whether they were protecting him.

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On September 7, senior advocate Harshad V Nimbalkar, appearing for Suryakant Yewale, told Justice Jamdar that he was “not at all involved in the crime,” which the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) S V Gavand, appearing for the state police, denied.