‘Those who don’t know what FIR is…': In Pune land ‘scam’, why Ajit Pawar's son Parth is not named, what CM Fadnavis said
What's the ‘illegal’ Pune land deal involving Parth Pawar's firm? Allegation is that govt land worth ₹1,800 cr was undervalued to ₹300 cr, govt levy waived
After a Pune land deal involving illegal sale of government property in a place called Mundhwa led to a political storm in Maharashtra and beyond, centred around deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth Pawar, CM Devendra Fadnavis has declared that “no one will be spared”, though the FIR does not expressly name Parth.
Fadnavis said in Nagpur, “Those who don't even understand what an FIR (First Information Report) is, are the ones making baseless allegations. When an FIR is registered, it is filed against the express parties involved. In this case, the FIR has been filed against the company and its authorised signatories.”
The opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress have alleged collusion at the top for the land reportedly worth ₹1,800 crore was undervalued on paper and sold to Parth Pawar-owned Amedea Enterprises for ₹300 crore, with waiver of stamp duty that should have been ₹21 crore.
Who is named in FIR, and why not Parth Pawar?
Parth Pawar's business partner Digvijay Patil, who has 1% share in Amadea Enterprises LLP with Parth holding 99% share, has been named in two FIRs, for alleged connivance to execute an illegal deal and the other for evasion of stamp duty.
A man named Sheetal Tejwani, power-of-attorney (PoA) holder for the original sellers, reportedly 272 individuals, and two since-suspended land revenue officials are also named. These are Ravindra Taru, a sub-registrar, accused of registering the sale deed without collecting mandatory stamp duty; and Suryakant Yewale, tehsildar of Pune city, for allegedly misusing his power to issue illegal orders granting ownership rights to private parties.
Also read | Pune land deal has been cancelled, says Ajit Pawar
What CM Fadnavis, deputy CM Pawar have said
“If, during the investigation, new names or links emerge, action will be taken against them as well,” the CM said.
“In the current FIR, no one has been spared. Let the inquiry report come; action will be taken against whoever is found guilty in it,” said the BJP leader, whose party is in government with Ajit Pawar's NCP and the other deputy CM Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
“It's important to understand that when an FIR is registered, it covers everyone expressly involved: those who signed the documents, those who sold, those who carried out wrongful registration, and those who made alterations,” he further said, as per news agency ANI.
Ajit Pawar has also said his son, Parth Pawar, was not named in the FIRs, “because only those who signed the registration documents were booked”. He claimed Parth did not know the land in question was being sold illegally.
What's the Pune land at centre of storm?
At the foundation of the issue is the allegedly illegal transfer of a large tract of 40 acres comprising 272 smaller plots of ‘Mahar Watan’ land in the Mundhwa area of Pune city, near the upmarket Koregaon Park, on May 19, 2025. No money had yet been paid, according to Ajit Pawar, and deal been cancelled.
What is Mahar Watan land, though? It is land that was traditionally granted for use to members of the Mahar community (now a Scheduled Caste) for hereditary village duties. After Independence, to remove caste-based obligations — and related discriminations — this system was abolished, and the land status was converted into regular “occupancy” with government being the owner, and it cannot be transferred or sold without approval.
The deal took place based on the power of attorney given by these 272 individual landholders many years ago to a firm called Paramount Infastructures, which sought permission to construct an IT park. Its request for stamp duty exemption was approved against the rules, based on a Letter of Intent for the project from the Directorate of Industries, it is alleged.
How matter came to light
The alleged scam made national headlines as an FIR was registered on November 6. But the matter stemmed from an activist's complaint.
Just two weeks after the sale deed, on June 5, 2025, Pune-based social activist Dinkar Kotkar wrote a complaint letter to the office of the Inspector General of Registration (IGR), alleging that stamp duty estimated at around ₹21 crore had been wrongfully waived, causing loss to the public exchequer. The FIR registered on November 6 has so far put that amount at ₹5.89 crore.
The government has said it took action on the activist's complaint. The IGR's office, upon receiving Kotkar's complaint, and a reminder, initiated an internal scrutiny of the sale deed. There was illegal altering of official records despite the land being essentially government-owned, as per the scrutiny. Deputy district registrar Santosh Ashok Hingane officially filed a criminal complaint, from which the FIRs stem.
