A  16-year-old fishing contract scam worth ₹400 crore is back in the spotlight in Gujarat after Gujarat High Court rejected petitions filed by former ministers Dileep Sanghani and Parshottam Solanki seeking discharge from criminal prosecution initiated by the Anti Corruption Bureau. The case dates back to  2008, when Sanghani who was cabinet minister of fisheries and Solanki minister of state for fisheries,bypassing all tender procedures, allegedly awarded fishing contracts to their associates at 58 reservoirs  in the state

The Gujarat government had issued a circular in 2004 mandating that fishing contracts be awarded only through a tender process.

High court judge Hemant Prachchhak had rejected their discharge petitions last Friday, but stayed the court order, allowing the accused to approach a higher court. 

A PIL was filed by Ishaq Mardiya in the Gujarat High Court, challenging the legality of these contracts. Despite the High Court’s intervention, the state government initially shielded the ministers.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) conducted an investigation and found irregularities in the contract awarding process. While Parshottam Solanki was technically given a clean chit, the report highlighted his involvement in influencing the decision.

Based on the ACB’s findings, a special court in Gandhinagar filed a case against both ministers and several government officials.

After the trial court rejected their discharge applications, the ministers approached the high court which rejected their petitions.

The trial of this 16-year-old case is expected to have significant political implications for both Sanghani and Solanki.

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