A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) reserved its order on a criminal public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in the Lavasa hill station project in Pune district.
The PIL, filed by advocate Nanasaheb Vasantrao Jadhav, names former Union Minister Sharad Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and Baramati MP Supriya Sule, among others, alleging the grant of illegal permissions, misuse of public resources, and large revenue losses through stamp duty exemptions and land allotments.
Appearing in person, Mr. Jadhav argued that the petition was maintainable despite earlier proceedings. He told the Bench, “The PIL had not been dismissed earlier, but was only held to be mis-constituted, and therefore remained maintainable,” citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in State of Uttarakhand vs. Balwant Singh Chaupal to stress that “genuine PILs raising issues of public importance should not be rejected on technical grounds.”
The petitioner also relied on judgments in State of West Bengal vs. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights and Subrata Chattoraj vs. Union of India to argue that High Courts have wide powers under Article 226 to direct a CBI probe in cases involving serious allegations and failure of local agencies.
