Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has vowed that “no one will be spared” in the alleged illegal sale of government land in Pune’s Mundhwa area, a deal that has sparked a political storm for involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son, Parth Pawar. The FIR, however, does not name Parth, even as opposition parties allege a cover-up.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis dismissed the criticism as politically motivated. “Those who don’t even understand what an FIR is are the ones making baseless allegations,” he said. “When an FIR is registered, it is filed against the express parties involved. In this case, it has been filed against the company and its authorised signatories.”
The controversy erupted after reports claimed that government land worth around ₹1,800 crore in Mundhwa was sold for only ₹300 crore to Amadea Enterprises LLP, a firm in which Parth Pawar holds a 99 per cent stake and his business partner Digvijay Patil holds the remaining one per cent. The opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) allege that the undervaluation and a waiver of ₹21 crore in stamp duty were signs of high-level collusion.
Digvijay Patil, Parth’s business partner, has been named in two FIRs, one related to the alleged illegal land transfer and another for stamp duty evasion. Also named are Sheetal Tejwani, the power-of-attorney holder representing 272 original landowners, and two land revenue officials, sub-registrar Ravindra Taru and tehsildar Suryakant Yewale, both suspended for their alleged roles in registering the sale without collecting stamp duty and issuing illegal ownership orders.
Fadnavis maintained that the probe would go wherever the evidence leads. “If, during the investigation, new names or links emerge, action will be taken against them as well,” he said. “No one has been spared in the current FIR. Let the inquiry report come, action will be taken against whoever is found guilty.”
Ajit Pawar, meanwhile, has defended his son, asserting that Parth was not named in the FIR “because only those who signed the registration documents were booked.” He added that Parth “did not know the land was being sold illegally” and that no payment had been made before the deal was cancelled.
The land in question, about 40 acres across 272 plots near Koregaon Park, is categorised as Mahar Watan land. Historically allotted to members of the Mahar community for hereditary village duties, such land was reclassified as government-owned after Independence and cannot be sold or transferred without state approval.
The transaction reportedly took place through a power of attorney granted years ago to a firm named Paramount Infrastructures, which sought to develop an IT park on the land. Authorities allege that the firm’s request for stamp duty exemption was illegally approved based on a Letter of Intent from the Directorate of Industries.
The alleged scam came to light after Pune-based activist Dinkar Kotkar lodged a complaint on June 5, 2025, with the office of the Inspector General of Registration (IGR), flagging a possible ₹21 crore loss to the exchequer. The FIR, filed on November 6, currently pegs the evaded stamp duty at ₹5.89 crore.
Officials said action followed Kotkar’s complaint, with the IGR’s office conducting an internal review that uncovered irregularities in the sale deed and alteration of official records. Deputy District Registrar Santosh Ashok Hingane subsequently lodged a criminal complaint, leading to the registration of the FIRs now under investigation.
