In a significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court has dismissed the discharge petitions of former BJP ministers Parshottam Solanki and Dileep Sanghani, linked to an alleged Rs 400-crore fisheries scam. The decision was delivered by Justice Hemant Prachchhak, who also extended a temporary stay on the criminal proceedings against the ex-ministers for an additional four weeks.
The controversy dates back to 2008 when Solanki, then Minister of State for Fisheries, and Sanghani, the Cabinet Minister for Agriculture, were accused of bypassing the tender process to allocate fishing contracts in 58 reservoirs across Gujarat. The allegations were first raised by Ishaq Maradia, a businessman from Palanpur, who claimed that the contracts were awarded without proper legal procedures, resulting in a substantial financial scam.
Maradia approached the High Court in 2012 after the state government failed to sanction prosecution against Solanki. Subsequently, the then Governor of Gujarat, Dr. Kamla Beniwal, overruled the state cabinet’s decision and sanctioned Solanki’s prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act. This led Maradia to demand legal action against both Solanki and Sanghani.
Following the registration of the case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Gandhinagar directed the ACB in May 2013 to investigate the matter thoroughly and present a report. The ACB’s findings, submitted in 2015, highlighted several irregularities in the awarding of the fishing contracts.
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Despite previous attempts to challenge the proceedings, including a 2018 rejection by the High Court of pleas contesting the ACB court’s authority, the legal battles have continued. The latest decision marks another setback for Solanki and Sanghani, holding them accountable under the law pending further investigation.
