Trouble for Narendra Modi's minister, court orders ACB probe

AHMEDABAD: In trouble for Gujarat minister Purshottam Solanki, a special court in Gandhinagar has ordered the Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe the Rs 400-crore fisheries scam in which he is allegedly involved and submit a report within six months.

The Narendra Modi Cabinet had earlier refused to grant sanctions to prosecute Solanki but Gujarat governor Kamla Beniwal had overruled it following which a complaint had been filed before the Special Anti-Corruption Bureau Court against Solanki under the sections 7, 8, 13(1)(d), 31(a), 31(b) and 32 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Special ACB court Judge G K Upadhyay, in his order delivered yesterday, directed Superintendent of Police (SP) Gandhinagar to hand over the investigation to ACB.

The court also ordered the ACB to complete its probe by November 29, 2013, and submit a detailed report to the court following which it will take further action.

The order came on a complaint by Ishaq Maradia who had alleged that Solanki, Minister of State for Fisheries in 2009, was involved in Rs 400 crore scam by illegally granting contracts for fishing in 58 reservoirs across the state.

Maradia, after the initial refusal of the state government to grant sanctions, had also moved Gujarat High Court which in turn had directed the state government to decide the matter at the state Cabinet level.

The state Cabinet, under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, had refused to grant sanction to prosecute Solanki. However, Gujarat governor Dr Kamla Beniwal on July 30, 2012, overruling the state Cabinet, had sanctioned the prosecution of Solanki under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Following this, Maradia had filed an application in the special ACB court demanding criminal prosecution of Solanki under the sections 7, 8, 13(1)(d), 31(a), 31(b) and 32 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In August 2012, the ACB court had ordered District Superintendent of Police (SP) to inquire into the allegations contained in the application of Ishaq Maradia and submit a report to the court by October 6, 2012.

Solanki, after winning the state Assembly elections last year, was again inducted in the state Cabinet and made Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

Maradia is now planning to move the Gujarat High Court demanding a CBI probe into the matter.

"Even after three extensions granted by the court there was no progress in the probe. So we had filed another application on January 5, 2013 and sought the investigation be transferred either to CBI or any other independent agency," said advocate Mukul Sinha, who is representing Maradia in the case.

"We still have apprehensions that as government itself had favoured Solanki, state police will not be able to conduct a fair and impartial investigation before a sitting minister. Hence, we are planning to challenge the order to transfer the probe to ACB in the Gujarat High Court to demand a CBI probe," Sinha said to PTI.