The Bombay High Court has refused to entertain a petition demanding a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities connected to the Lavasa township project in Pune, bringing relief to senior political leaders Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, and Ajit Pawar.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, along with Justice Gautam Ankhad, ruled that the petition did not satisfy the legal threshold required to order a criminal investigation. The court made it clear that courts cannot instruct police or central agencies to register cases unless specific legal procedures are followed.

The plea was moved by advocate Nanasaheb Jadhav, who claimed that special permissions were improperly granted for the Lavasa hill city project when Sharad Pawar was a dominant political figure in Maharashtra. His petition also named Baramati MP Supriya Sule and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, alleging misuse of political influence.

However, the court noted that similar issues had already been raised earlier and examined by the judiciary. In a previous round of litigation in 2022, the High Court had declined to interfere in matters related to Lavasa’s approvals, choosing not to order any probe at that stage.

In the latest petition, Jadhav argued that despite approaching the Pune police in 2018, no investigation was initiated, prompting him to seek CBI intervention. This argument failed to convince the bench, which stressed that dissatisfaction with police inaction alone does not justify judicial directions for criminal cases.

Earlier, Sharad Pawar had formally objected to the petition, stating that the allegations were repetitive and aimed at reopening settled issues.