Devendra Fadnavis

The Maharashtra government led by Fadnavis announced that Hindi would be compulsory as a third language in Marathi- and English-medium schools in Classes 1 to 5. Faced with accusations of imposing Hindi, the government first withdrew the compulsory requirement, then further amended or revoked its directions as discontent persisted.

State of the evidence

Government Resolutions, protests and withdrawals documented

Legal status — source text

no personal judicial proceedings

Attribution

direct political responsibility as head of government

Violence erupted in Nagpur after Hindu groups campaigned to have Aurangzeb's tomb removed. Fadnavis said the unrest appeared premeditated, promised to recover damages from rioters and discussed the use of 'bulldozer action' where permitted by law.

State of the evidence

violence, arrests and government statements documented

Legal status — source text

investigations and prosecutions against participants in the violence; no personal criminal charge against Fadnavis

Attribution

political responsibility as Chief Minister and Home Minister; no established personal causal link between his remarks and the violence

Akshay Shinde, accused in a sexual assault case in Badlapur, was shot dead by police during a transfer. The government had initially defended the account that he had seized a weapon and fired. A subsequent magisterial inquiry noted the absence of fingerprints and gunshot residue and concluded that the use of force was unjustified on the evidence examined.

State of the evidence

shooting death, magisterial inquiry, High Court/Supreme Court decisions and establishment of an SIT documented

Legal status — source text

the magisterial inquiry considered the police self-defence claim highly doubtful; an SIT was established; no personal involvement by Fadnavis established

Attribution

institutional political responsibility as Home Minister; do not attribute the firing of the weapon or staging of events to Fadnavis without evidence

A complaint alleged that Fadnavis had failed to mention two cases in his 2014 election affidavit. He acknowledged that the cases had been omitted but maintained that this was an unintentional error in preparing the documents.

State of the evidence

admitted omission and documented acquittal

Legal status — source text

acquitted in September 2023; the court found no deliberate intent

Attribution

personal responsibility for an incomplete declaration, without criminal guilt being established

In 2021, while opposition leader, Fadnavis stated that he possessed 6.3 GB of call data and a confidential State Intelligence Department report concerning possible pressure over police transfers. This prompted an investigation into the data leak and debate over alleged phone tapping dating back to his government.

State of the evidence

political disclosure of a confidential report, FIRs and judicial closures documented

Legal status — source text

the CBI filed a closure report for lack of evidence against any individual, accepted by the court in 2023; two FIRs against IPS officer Rashmi Shukla were also quashed

Attribution

Fadnavis was a witness in the leak investigation and publicly used the data; he was not a convicted defendant

Police used batons and tear gas against protesters demanding a Maratha quota at Antarwali Sarati. The opposition demanded the resignation of Fadnavis, who held the Home portfolio.

State of the evidence

use of force, injuries and official apology documented

Legal status — source text

no personal criminal proceedings against Fadnavis

Attribution

ministerial responsibility as head of the Home Department; no evidence that he personally ordered the charge

The proposed Metro Line 3 depot in Aarey triggered major environmental protests. Trees were felled at night in 2019. After returning to power with the Shinde alliance, Fadnavis defended reinstating the Aarey site rather than the Kanjurmarg alternative.

State of the evidence

tree felling, protests and government decisions documented

Legal status — source text

no personal criminal proceedings

Attribution

political responsibility as Chief Minister in 2019 and principal advocate of returning the depot to Aarey in 2022

In 2018, the Fadnavis government enacted a specific reservation for Marathas in public employment and education. After the Bombay High Court initially upheld the measure in part, the Supreme Court struck it down in 2021 for breaching the constitutional 50% ceiling without sufficiently exceptional circumstances.

State of the evidence

state law and Supreme Court judgment documented

Legal status — source text

Supreme Court struck down provisions exceeding the 50% ceiling in 2021

Attribution

public policy responsibility as Chief Minister who championed the law; no criminal wrongdoing

On 23 November 2019, Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister early in the morning, with Ajit Pawar as his deputy, following a confidential political operation and the lifting of President's Rule. The claimed majority was immediately contested.

State of the evidence

swearing-in, overnight lifting of President's Rule and collapse of the government documented

Legal status — source text

constitutional litigation over the majority; no personal conviction

Attribution

direct political responsibility

Following the Bhima Koregaon violence, Pune police shifted the focus of their investigation to Elgaar Parishad and arrested several lawyers, academics and activists, claiming evidence of links to the CPI (Maoist) and even a plot against Narendra Modi. Human rights defenders denounced the criminalisation of dissent.

State of the evidence

arrests, searches and allegations of Maoist links documented

Legal status — source text

proceedings against activists, not Fadnavis personally; years of litigation and releases on bail followed

Attribution

institutional political responsibility as Maharashtra Chief Minister when Pune police launched the operations