Gujarat High Court Rejects Petitions in Fisheries Scam

The Gujarat High Court has rejected pleas from former BJP ministers Parshottam Solanki and Dileep Sanghani to be discharged from criminal proceedings related to an alleged Rs 400-crore fisheries scam dating back to 2008. Justice Hemant Prachchhak ruled against the discharge applications after a special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court previously dismissed them, citing prima facie evidence of wrongdoing. The allegations suggest that Solanki, as the then fisheries minister, improperly allocated fishing contracts for 58 reservoirs without following proper tendering processes, allegedly causing significant financial loss to the state. The court has extended the stay on criminal proceedings for an additional four weeks, allowing the accused to seek higher judicial intervention. The case has faced numerous legal battles since the complaint was first filed in 2012 by businessman Ishaq Maradia, who accused the ministers of corruption. Solanki continues to hold a ministerial position in the current Gujarat government, while Sanghani maintains influence in the cooperative sector.