'Prima facie case made out': Gujarat HC refuses relief to BJP minister, IFCO chairman in fisheries 'scam'

Ahmedabad: Observing that "prima face case is made out", the Gujarat High Court rejected the discharge petitions of BJP minister Purushottam Solanki and former minister and newly-elected chairman of IFCO, Dileep Sanghani in the alleged Rs400 crore fisheries scam.

The case has witnessed several ups and downs including tussle between the then chief minister Narendra Modi and then Governor Kamla Beniwal, who passed away recently in Rajasthan. In 2008 after the alleged scam surfaced, Beniwal gave sanction to prosecute the ministers under prevention of corruption act overruling the decision of the state cabinet led by Modi.

It was only after Gujarat High Court upheld the Governor's decision, the state government gave sanction to prosecute the accused. Solanki, Sanghani and others are accused of granting fishing contracts of 58 reservoirs allegedly to their close associates without following mandatory auctioning process in 2008.

Solanki was then minister of state for fisheries, while Sanghani was the agriculture minister. In 2022, Solanki, a strong Koli (OBC) leader of Saurashtra, was given the same portfolio under Bhupendra Patel led government. Meanwhile, Sanghani became the chairman of Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFCO).

"The court is of the opinion, what needs to be considered is whether there is a ground for presuming that the offence has been committed and not whether a ground for convicting the accused has been made out (sic). After considering the relevant materials and the facts emerged from the record and the order passed by the trial court, I am of the opinion that the present petitions are devoid of any merits and the same deserves to be quashed and set aside," justice Hemant M Prachchhak noted in the order which was made available on Monday.

The alleged scam came to light after Ishaq Mohammad Maradia, a Banaskantha-based fishing contractor, moved the high court as he was denied fishing contract for a reservoir. In September 2008, the HC scrapped the contracts and ordered the government to invite fresh tenders. Moradia had alleged that the scam is worth over Rs 400 crore.

The accused had moved the high court after a special court in Gandhinagar refused their discharge application stating that there was enough evidence to frame charges against them.