A Pune civil court has declared the controversial ₹300 crore Mundhwa land sale deed executed in favour of Amadea Enterprises LLP as void ab initio, but right to information (RTI) activist Vijay Kumbhar has cautioned that the judgement should not be seen as a setback for the company, warning instead that it could create a ‘dangerous precedent’ if criminal accountability does not follow.
"This is not a setback for Amadea Enterprises. It appears everything was done in collusion. Now there may be no criminal consequences. This could become a new modus operandi: if the land grab succeeds, fine; if it fails, simply approach the court and say that the transaction never took place," Mr Kumbhar said after the judgement.
The observations came after the 14th joint civil judge (senior division), Pune, on 3 July 2026, declared the registered sale deed executed on 20 May 2025 in favour of Amadea Enterprises LLP "void ab-initio, inoperative since the beginning and of no legal effect."
The court directed the sub-registrar of assurances, Haveli-4, Pune, to cancel the registration entries and update the Index-II records accordingly. It also ruled that following cancellation of the sale deed, the company would have no right, title or interest in the disputed property.
The court further observed that its decree would be sufficient for the parties to approach the competent authority under the Maharashtra Stamp Act for a refund or adjustment of stamp duty.
Mr Kumbhar, who has consistently pursued the Mundhwa land matter through RTI applications and public disclosures, pointed out that the court cancelled the registered sale deed after finding that no consideration had been paid and possession of the land had never been handed over.
In his X post, he questioned whether such outcomes could encourage fraudulent land transactions. "Scams, grab lands, and when caught—rush to court claiming 'no transaction happened' and walk free?"
According to him, the defendant even admitted before the court that no payment had been made, leading the court to cancel the transaction by way of a judgement on admissions.
Although the civil court has now extinguished Amadea Enterprises' civil rights over the property, the controversial Mundhwa land transaction continues to face scrutiny from multiple agencies.
The company, reportedly linked to Parth Pawar, son of Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister late Ajit Pawar, and his cousin Digvijay Patil, has remained at the centre of allegations surrounding the purchase of nearly 40 acres of government-owned 'Mahar watan' land in Pune's Mundhwa area.
The land, reportedly under lease to the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) since 1973, was sold through a registered sale deed executed by businesswoman Sheetal Tejwani, acting as power-of-attorney-holder for 272 purported landowners, on 20 May 2025, for around ₹300 crore.
The controversy intensified shortly afterwards when the then tehsildar Suryakant Yeole allegedly issued an eviction notice to the Botanical Survey of India, claiming the company had legally acquired the land. Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi later declared the notice illegal, observing that mandatory government approvals had not been obtained.
The civil court's ruling follows another setback for the transaction in May this year, when the Maharashtra Revenue Control Authority (MRCA) upheld a demand of about ₹21 crore towards stamp duty and penalty against Amadea Enterprises.
The authority rejected the company's appeal after concluding that it had wrongly claimed an exemption meant for information technology and IT-enabled services projects while registering the transaction.
The land deal had attracted widespread criticism because only ₹500 was reportedly paid as stamp duty, despite allegations that more than ₹21 crore was legally payable.
The Pune police's economic offences wing (EOW) has clarified that the Mundhwa land transaction is separate from another land-related case in Pune's Bopodi area, although both were initially included in a common first information report (FIR) because suspended tehsildar Suryakant Yeole figured as an accused in both matters.
The FIR registered by Pimpri Chinchwad police named Sheetal Tejwani, Digvijay Patil and suspended sub-registrar RB Taru on allegations of fraud and embezzlement linked to the transaction.
Investigators are examining allegations that government land estimated to be worth between ₹1,800 crore and ₹2,000 crore was transferred for ₹300 crore, allegedly without any substantial upfront payment and without obtaining mandatory government approvals.
The land transaction has also generated considerable political controversy. Following public criticism, Ajit Pawar had announced that the sale deed executed by his son's firm would be scrapped, stating that no money had actually changed hands in the transaction.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis subsequently confirmed that FIRs had been registered and said the investigation would proceed strictly in accordance with law, without shielding anyone.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government constituted a five-member committee, headed by senior bureaucrat Vikas Kharge, to investigate the transaction, identify procedural lapses, assign accountability and recommend measures to restore the land to government ownership.
While the Pune court's decree has now erased Amadea Enterprises' legal claim over the land, Mr Kumbhar argues that the larger question remains unanswered: Whether merely cancelling a disputed transaction after admitting that no consideration was paid should bring an end to liability in a case involving allegations surrounding government land worth nearly ₹2,000 crore. That issue, he says, will ultimately be determined by the ongoing criminal, revenue and administrative investigations.
