NCP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s political career saw allegations of corruption in major cases related to cooperative banks and irrigation projects. While investigating agencies had at different points conducted a probe into allegations against him, the cases witnessed repeated reversals, closure reports and clean chits.
Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank case
Ajit Pawar was among those investigated in the Rs 1,300 crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank case following directions of the Bombay High Court. The case concerned loans given to sugar factories by cooperative banks, including the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank, where Pawar had served as a director from 1995.
The Economic Offences Wing and the Enforcement Directorate alleged that several sugar factories were deliberately shown as financially unviable and then declared non-performing assets before being sold at low prices to companies allegedly linked to relatives of bank officials, including Pawar.
One of the key transactions under scrutiny was the sale of the Jarandeshwar Sugar Sahakari Karkhana in Satara. Investigators alleged that funds used to buy the factory came from two firms, Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd and Jay Agrotech. Pawar’s wife Sunetra was a director of Jay Agrotech till 2008, while his uncle Rajendra Ghadge was a director of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills.
The case has seen multiple reversals since 2020. During the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, the EOW filed a closure report stating that no criminal offence had been committed. After the change of government in 2022, the EOW sought to reopen the probe. In January 2024, months after Pawar joined the ruling alliance, the agency again stated that no offence had been made out and that the bank had recovered over Rs 1343 crore from the loans.
However, protest petitions challenging the closure report are pending before the court, which is yet to decide whether to accept the closure report or order further investigation.
In the related Enforcement Directorate case, Pawar has not been charge sheeted. His nephew, NCP SP leader Rohit Pawar, was named as an accused in July 2025.
Ajit Pawar was also investigated in the alleged irrigation scam, estimated at around Rs 70,000 crore. The case related to alleged irregularities, cost escalations and procedural violations in the approval and execution of irrigation projects when Pawar was Water Resources Minister during the Congress NCP government.
He was named as an accused in the case. However, in December 2019, the Nagpur and Amravati units of the Anti Corruption Bureau filed affidavits before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court stating that no wrongdoing was found in projects under their jurisdiction, effectively giving him a clean chit in those cases.
Pawar had denied all allegations of corruption in both the cases.
Parth Pawar and the Mahar watan land issue
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Pawar ended up fire-fighting the cloud over his allegations faced by his son Parth Pawar in 2025 related to the transfer of land classified as Mahar watan land. Such land is protected under law and cannot be freely transferred or sold. Opposition parties alleged that parcels of this land had been transferred in a manner that benefited people linked to the Pawar family and demanded an inquiry.
Ajit Pawar denied any wrongdoing by his son and said the transfer had occurred due to an administrative or clerical error. He maintained that neither he nor Parth Pawar had sought any special benefit and said the matter was being corrected through official procedures.
He stated that the land had been restored to the original owners and that revenue officials had been directed to rectify the records. Pawar also said the issue should not be politicised and that any mistake, if found, should be corrected as per law.
As of now, no charge sheet has been filed against Parth Pawar in connection with the Mahar watan land issue. The matter remains at the level of administrative scrutiny.
Sadaf Modak is a distinguished Legal Correspondent based in Mumbai whose work demonstrates exceptional Expertise and Authority in covering the intricacies of the judicial and correctional systems. Reporting for The Indian Express, she is a highly Trustworthy source for in-depth coverage of courtroom proceedings and human rights issues.
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