Pune: The Bombay high court has granted interim protection against arrest till Jan 19 to suspended Pune city tehsildar Suryakant Yewale in the case of issuing two illegal orders granting ownership of govt land in Mundhwa and Bopodi to private parties.“Till next date (Jan 19), no coercive steps be taken against the applicant (Yewale),” the bench of Justice Madhav J Jamdar said on Jan 5 after senior lawyer Harshad Nimbalkar informed the bench that the Pune sessions court had granted such protection on Nov 13, 2025, and the same continued till it rejected Yewale’s anticipatory bail plea on Nov 22, 2025. The Pune court then rejected Yewale’s plea to continue with the interim protection. The 40-acre Mundhwa land parcel, a Mahar Watan land taken over by the govt after the abolition of Mahar Watan system, is in news over a sale deed executed by Sheetal Tejwani, the power of attorney holder for the 272 Watandars (original land holders), and Digvijay Patil, a partner in Amadea Enterprises LLP, for a consideration of Rs300 crore and registered by the sub-registrar Haveli IV office.Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar‘s son, Parth, is the other partner in Amadea Enterprises although Parth has not been named in the FIR related to the deal. Yewale is accused of passing an order asking the Botanical Survey of India, which holds the lease of the land parcel till 2038, to vacant the land, following a plea by Amadea for such direction.Khadak police registered a case based on a complaint by naib tehsildar Pravina Borde on Nov 7, 2025, and Pune police’s economic offences wing is investigating it.Regarding the 5ha & 35R Bopodi land, which is in possession of the College of Agriculture (CoA), lawyer Sandeep Paigude, representing the college, submitted that the CoA be heard in the matter. The Khadak police FIR is related to Yewale’s July 1, 2025, order in his capacity as Tehsildar alias Agricultural Lands Tribunal, Pune, extending the ownership rights of the land in favour of private parties. The bench said, “In view of these circumstances, the applicant shall implead the College of Agriculture, Pune as party-Respondent No.2.”
