Rs 400 crore fisheries 'scam': SC quashes case against ex-Gujarat minister

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against former Gujarat minister Dileep Sanghani in an alleged Rs 400-crore fisheries scam in 2008.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran underlined the absence of the ingredients of the alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

"We accept the contention raised by the appellant that there is not even an iota of material available from the investigation report, the pre-charge statements recorded from the complainant or the police officers or even the statements of persons questioned by the investigation team, as available in the report, to attract the ingredients of the provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act," the bench said.

The verdict went on to add, "The discharge application of the appellant ought to have been allowed by the special court especially since there is not even an allegation of demand and acceptance of bribe, by the second accused/appellant." Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the former minister, denied any such allegation of demand or acceptance of the bribe against his client in lieu of issuing grants, made either in the investigation report or in the statements of the persons interrogated by the investigating team.

The top court's verdict came on an appeal filed Sanghani against an order of the Gujarat High Court on July 26, 2024.

The High Court upheld the March 12 2021 order of a special anti-corruption bureau (ACB) court rejecting their discharge applications in the case.

The alleged scam dates back to 2008, when Parshottam Solanki was the minister of state for fisheries and Sanghani was the state cabinet minister for agriculture in Gujarat.

It was alleged that in order to obtain illegal gratification, fishing contracts in the reservoirs of the state were allotted without following the policy of the government, mandating tender proceedings.

A Palanpur-based businessman, Ishaq Maradia, moved the high court alleging that Solanki flouted rules by allotting fishing contracts without following the tendering process.

Solanki previously claimed that Sanghani granted the contracts of fisheries as he was then designated as the cabinet minister.

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

However, 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.