Gujarat HC rejects discharge pleas of two ex-BJP ministers in Rs 400-crore ‘fisheries scam’

Ahmedabad, Jul 28 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court has rejected the pleas filed by former BJP ministers Parshottam Solanki and Dileep Sanghani seeking their discharge in an alleged Rs 400-crore fisheries scam.

The court of Justice Hemant Prachchhak on Friday dismissed the petitions moved by Solanki, Sanghani and one Arjun Suthariya challenging a March 12, 2021, order of a special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court rejecting their discharge applications in the case.

Earlier, the HC had stayed criminal proceedings against the ex-ministers.

While rejecting their pleas, the court on Friday extended its stay on criminal proceedings against the former ministers for another four weeks.

The alleged scam is from 2008 when Solanki was the minister of state for fisheries and Sanghani was the cabinet minister for agriculture in Gujarat.

At that time, a Palanpur-based businessman, Ishaq Maradia, moved the HC alleging that Solanki flouted rules by allotting fishing contracts without following the tendering process.

Maradia alleged that Solanki was involved in a “Rs 400-crore scam” by illegally granting contracts for fishing in 58 reservoirs across the state.

During past hearings in the HC, Solanki had claimed that Sanghani had granted the contracts of fisheries as he was then designated as the cabinet minister.

Maradia moved the HC in 2012 after the state government did not grant sanctions to prosecute Solanki.

However, the then Gujarat governor Dr Kamla Beniwal on July 30, 2012, overruled the state cabinet and sanctioned the prosecution of Solanki under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Maradia then filed an application in the ACB court demanding action against Solanki and Sanghani under the PC Act.

After the case was registered against Solanki and Sanghani, the ACB court in Gandhinagar had asked the anti-graft agency in May 2013 to probe the allegations and submit a report.

The ACB submitted its report before the court in 2015, indicating irregularities in awarding the contracts of fisheries, according to court papers.

The ex-ministers moved the HC after the Gandhinagar court issued summons to them taking cognisance of the ACB inquiry report.

Earlier, the HC had in 2018 rejected pleas filed by the two BJP leaders challenging proceedings initiated against them by the special ACB court in the alleged Rs 400-crore fisheries scam.