Pune Court Denies Bail to Sheetal Tejwani in Controversial Land Sale Case

Pune, 7th January 2026: Judicial Magistrate First Class Alisha C. Bagal on Tuesday denied bail to power of attorney (PoA) holder Sheetal Tejwani in connection with the controversial Mundhwa government land deal.

While rejecting the plea, the court referred to the FIR, remand report, and supporting documents filed by the parties, stating on January 3: “It prima facie appears that the accused sold government property in Mundhwa without proper sanction and without paying the required stamp duty, thereby causing loss to the government.”

Magistrate Bagal noted, “These are serious allegations. The transaction involves significant sums of money, and the investigation is still ongoing.” The court also pointed out that the issue of whether the Mundhwa property belonged to the Watandars or the government could not be decided at the bail stage.

The magistrate added, “If the accused is released now, there is a risk that she could tamper with evidence, influence witnesses, or evade trial.” The court further rejected claims citing Tejwani’s status as a single mother and her medical ailments, stating that the serious nature of the offence outweighed such considerations.

Pune police had arrested Tejwani on December 3, 2025, following a complaint lodged on November 7, 2025, by Naib Tehsildar Pravina S. Borde. The complaint implicated suspended tehsildar Suryakant Yewale and eight others for issuing two illegal orders that recognized ownership rights of government land parcels—40 acres at Mundhwa and 5.35 hectares at Bopodi—in favour of private parties.

According to the police, Tejwani, who held PoA for 272 original holders of the Mahar Watan land at Mundhwa (currently leased to the Botanical Survey of India until 2038), executed the sale of the property to Amadea Enterprises LLP for Rs 300 crore. Amadea Enterprises, in which Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son, Parth Pawar, is a partner, registered the sale deed on May 20, 2025, allegedly without any valid authority.

Subsequently, on May 26, 2025, Amadea Enterprises filed a possession request with Yewale for the Mundhwa land. On June 9, 2025, Yewale directed the BSI to vacate the site. While Parth Pawar is not named in the FIR, Amadea’s other partner, Digvijay Patil, and Tejwani were listed as beneficiaries in Yewale’s June 9 order.

Opposing the bail plea, District Government Pleader Pramod Bombatkar argued that Tejwani had played a major role in the transaction, acting as a beneficiary by executing the sale deed on behalf of the Watandars, despite the deaths of 28 of them. He also highlighted that Tejwani has pending cases related to economic offences.

Tejwani’s lawyer, Ajay Bhise, argued that she is a single mother and the sole caregiver of three minor children and cited her medical conditions. He added that she had fully cooperated with the investigation, appeared before the investigating officer as required, and had not attempted to evade or obstruct the probe. Bhise also contended that the land belonged to the Watandars and not the government, and that the responsibility for stamp duty rested with the buyer.