How Ajit Pawar's son's firm bought Rs 1,800-crore land without paying stamp duty

A land deal controversy involving the son of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has triggered a political storm in the state amid allegations of fraudulent acquisition, undervaluation, and misuse of political influence.

The Opposition has alleged that government-owned land was sold to a company linked to the NCP leader's son Parth Pawar at a heavily undervalued rate, with irregularities in stamp duty payment and exemption.

The controversy centres on a 40-acre plot in Pune’s Mundhwa area, which the Opposition claims has a market value of around Rs 1,800 crore. However, the sale deed was allegedly executed for just Rs 300 crore.

Amadea Enterprises LLP, the firm linked to Parth Pawar, is also accused of seeking and obtaining a stamp duty waiver of Rs 21 crore citing plans to establish a data centre on the land, which never happened.

HOW THE DEAL UNFOLDED

According to documents accessed by India Today, Amadea Enterprises LLP, a company with a declared capital of just 1 lakh, allegedly acquired the land worth Rs 1,800 crore for Rs 300 crore without making any upfront payment.

The sale deed, executed between Amadea Enterprises and Parth’s associate and power of attorney holder, Sheetal Tejwani, was registered in what sources describe as a “rare instance of absolute trust”. It reportedly contained no details of payment terms, proof of receipt, or schedule of instalments, all of which are mandatory in property transactions under Maharashtra law.

Despite the land’s high valuation, the firm is said to have paid just 500 in stamp fees, bypassing the mandatory 7 per cent duty (5 per cent state tax, 1 per cent metro cess, and 1 per cent local body tax).

Records from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs show that Amadea Enterprises LLP was formed with a capital contribution of 99,000 from Parth Pawar (99 per cent stake) and 1,000 from his cousin Digvijay Patil (1 per cent stake).

The company’s last annual return was filed on December 31, 2023. Notably, the sale deed bears the signature of Patil, who was appointed as a partner on August 27, 2021 — two days before Parth officially joined the firm.

Patil is among the three accused named in the FIR filed by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police, along with Tejwani and suspended sub-registrar Ravindra Taru.

Financial documents reviewed by India Today further reveal that Parth Pawar had withdrawn 68.47 lakh from the company and was shown to have drawn a salary of 52.47 lakh, while Patil received 53,000 as salary.

Following widespread outrage, the Maharashtra Police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Senior Police Inspector Anil Vibhute to probe the land transaction. The SIT comprises eight officers and investigators.

Responding to the allegations, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said his son was unaware that the property was government-owned and that the deal has since been scrapped. However, he added that the company will have to pay double the stamp duty of Rs 42 crore to cancel the transaction.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that the police are acting strictly in accordance with the law and assured that “no one will be spared”.

- Ends

Tune In