Bombay High Court dismisses plea seeking CBI probe against Pawar family over Lavasa project

The Bombay High Court on Monday (December 22, 2025) dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against senior NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Sharad Pawar, his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule, and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over alleged irregular permissions granted for the Lavasa hill station project in Pune district.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad held that the petitioner, advocate Nanasaheb Jadhav, had failed to establish any statutory basis for the relief sought. “While exercising civil jurisdiction, this court cannot pass a direction to the police to register an FIR,” the Bench observed, adding that the PIL plea lacked merit. A detail order is awaited.  

Mr. Jadhav’s PIL sought a directive to the CBI to initiate criminal proceedings against the Pawars for allegedly facilitating special permissions for Lavasa under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act. He claimed that despite filing a complaint with the Pune Police Commissioner in December 2018, no action was taken.

In February 2022, the High Court had refused to interfere when Mr. Jadhav challenged the legality of permissions granted to Lavasa, though it remarked that there appeared to be “some exertion of influence and clout” by Mr. Sharad Pawar and his daughter. The latest petition, filed in 2023, reiterated similar allegations and sought a CBI probe. 

The Bench noted that the present PIL plea was “repetitive” and did not bring any fresh material on record. “The petitioner has made similar allegations again and again,” the judges said. 

‘Recycling accusations’

Mr. Sharad Pawar, through an intervention application filed in March this year, opposed the PIL plea, terming it “harassment without evidence.” He argued that the petitioner was recycling accusations to target public figures and that the allegations were “baseless and politically motivated.” 

The High Court had reserved its order on December 16 after hearing arguments from both sides and pronounced it on Monday (December 22, 2025). 

The Lavasa hill station project, conceived as India’s first privately planned city, has been mired in legal and environmental disputes for over a decade. Spread across the Western Ghats near Pune, the project faced allegations of violating environmental norms, encroaching upon forest land, and obtaining clearances through political influence. 

In 2011, the Union Environment Ministry issued a stop-work order citing violations of the Environment Protection Act. Subsequent reports flagged irregularities in land acquisition and permissions granted under special planning authorities. The project also attracted scrutiny from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which pointed to lapses in regulatory oversight.