Bombay High Court Rejects Renewed PIL Over Lavasa Project, Citing Lack of Legal Basis
Mumbai/Pune, 22nd December 2025:The Bombay High Court has declined to reopen the long-running controversy surrounding approvals granted to the Lavasa hill station project, dismissing a public interest litigation that sought a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities involving senior political figures.
The plea, filed by advocate Nanasaheb Jadhav, targeted senior political leaders, including NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Sharad Pawar, Baramati MP Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, alleging irregularities in permissions granted to the Lavasa project. Jadhav claimed that despite approaching the Pune Police Commissioner in December 2018 with a complaint, no action was initiated.
However, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad held that the petition was legally unsustainable. The court observed that while exercising civil jurisdiction, it could not direct the registration of a criminal case unless such power was clearly backed by statute. The petitioner, the bench noted, failed to identify any legal provision that would justify such a direction.
The High Court also took note of the petitioner’s earlier attempts to raise similar issues. In February 2022, it had already refused to intervene in a challenge concerning special permissions granted to the Lavasa project, making limited observations but granting no relief.
Opposing the fresh petition, Sharad Pawar had filed an intervention application arguing that the PIL was a repetition of allegations that had already been examined and rejected by the court.
In view of these factors, the bench dismissed the petition, effectively closing the door on yet another attempt to initiate a criminal investigation into the Lavasa approvals through the PIL route.
