Zero FIR in Karnataka over Ajit Pawar's death: They don't have jurisdiction, says Maharashtra CM Fadnavis

In what could snowball into a major political issue between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that the neighbouring state has no jurisdiction to register a Zero FIR into the Baramati plane crash.

The Zero FIR has been done with a purpose to defame Maharashtra, Fadnavis said.

This comes a day after NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar claimed that he had to get registered a 'zero FIR' in neighbouring Karnataka as police in Maharashtra refused to register a First Information Report on his complaint.

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, the grand-nephew of Pawar-family patriarch Sharad Pawar and nephew of the late Ajit Pawar filed a Zero FIR on Tuesday at the High Grounds police station in Bengaluru City.

The FIR has been sent to Maharashtra’s Director General of Police for transfer to the Baramati Rural police station in Pune district.

“Karnataka cannot take the Zero FIR…it does not have the jurisdiction to do so…it is illegal,” Fadnavis told the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as the Budget Session drew to a close in Mumbai.

“Perhaps (Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi may have told them to take the FIR…may be or may not be…it cannot take a Zero FIR in this case,” said Fadnavis, who is also the state Home Minister and Law & Judiciary Minister.

“Just assume if a minister files a Zero FIR in Mumbai against the Karnataka Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah)…the Zero FIR is not for this purpose,” he said.

According to him, a Zero FIR is taken when an aggrieved party or the victim cannot reach a police station.

“It may not be in your mind…but Karnataka has done it for a political purpose…actually the police station in Karnataka should have told you that you can go to the concerned police station and get the FIR done,” he told Rohit Pawar.

Fadnavis said under the Section 175 (3) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita a person can approach the concerned Magistrate to get an FIR done if the police station refuses.

Speaking about the investigations into the 28 January 2026 Learjet plane crash in which Ajit Pawar (66), the then Deputy Chief Minister and NCP President and four others died, the Chief Minister said that an Accidental Death Report (ADR) was taken and investigations is being done by state CID.

“The purpose of an FIR is to set the law in motion…in case of an accident, an ADR is registered to set the law in motion…the purpose of both (FIR and ADR) is the same…in case of an ADR, if criminality or conspiracy emerges, it is converted into an FIR and a chargesheet is filed,” Fadnavis said.

“In know being the nephew of Ajit Pawar, it is an emotional matter…but people close to you know that in the last seven to eight years, I am one of those who was closest to Ajit Dada….rest assured…. If Ajit Dada's accident was a murder, then I assure this House that we will move heaven and earth (aakash-paataal) to find whosoever is the 'baap' (person,” Fadnavis assured the House.

Fadnavis also said that on the day of the incident a three-member team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had visited the crash site. “The AAIB has come out with the preliminary report,” he said.

Fadnavis also said that Deputy Chief Minister Surendra Pawar had requested for a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which the State has recommended to the Centre. “The NCP (leaders and legislators) have requested for a meeting with Union Home Minister….we will surely do that,” he said.

“If the report of (CID and AAIB) suggests foul play, it would be converted into an FIR,” he said.