The Bombay High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought a police case or a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against prominent Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders over alleged illegal permissions granted for the Lavasa hill city project in Pune.
Court Cites Lack of Evidence and Previous Disposal
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad rejected the plea filed by lawyer Nanasaheb Jadhav. The court, which had reserved its judgment on December 16, observed that the petitioner failed to provide sufficient material to substantiate his allegations against the political figures.
The bench also noted that Jadhav had filed a similar petition earlier, which was disposed of by the court in February 2022 on grounds of significant delay. That plea was filed nearly a decade after the Lavasa project commenced.
Petitioner's Claims and Police Inaction
In his fresh PIL filed in 2023, Jadhav claimed he had lodged a complaint with the Pune Police Commissioner in December 2018, which was forwarded to the Pune Rural Police. Upon filing a Right to Information (RTI) application in May 2022, he discovered that no First Information Report (FIR) had been registered.
He subsequently sent the complaint to the Pune Rural Superintendent of Police under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), but alleged no action was taken. Jadhav contended that the police refrained from registering an FIR due to the involvement of influential politicians and officials, hence his demand for a CBI investigation.
Legal Arguments and Past Observations
Senior advocates representing Sharad Pawar argued that the allegations in the current PIL were identical to those in the earlier petition which was already disposed of, warranting its dismissal.
The bench led by then Chief Justice Dipankar Datta (now a Supreme Court judge) in its 2022 order had made certain critical observations. It noted a "personal interest" in the project by Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule, along with an "exertion of influence and clout". The court also observed that Ajit Pawar, who was the state irrigation minister at the relevant time, "failed to disclose the direct or indirect interest and was found to be remiss in his duty only to that extent."
However, in September 2023, another bench of the high court had suggested that Jadhav could file a private complaint before a magistrate if the police did not register an FIR, remarking that while political pressure might influence the police, it would not affect a magistrate.
Conclusion and Implications
The dismissal of this PIL brings a legal closure, for now, to the specific plea seeking a criminal probe against the Pawars in connection with the Lavasa project. The court's decision underscores the legal principles of providing concrete evidence and avoiding inordinate delays while approaching the judiciary with such serious allegations. The Lavasa project, a massive private hill station development, has been embroiled in controversies and legal challenges for years concerning environmental clearances and land use permissions.
