Navsari court sentences Gujarat Maritime Board staffer to 3 years in jail in bribe case

Navsari: The Principal District and Sessions Court, Navsari, has sentenced Dineshbhai Babubhai Ganvit, a junior clerk at the Bilimora Port office of the Gujarat Maritime Board, to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000 in a bribery case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

As per the details of the case, the complainant, Hasmukhbhai Chhaganbhai Tandel of Gandevi, operates a boat named Ashadip to carry out fishing in the Mumbai seas area from Dholai Fishing Port. In 2010, he approached the accused Dineshbhai Ganvit to obtain official permission for his fishing operations. The accused demanded a bribe of ₹5,000 for issuing the permission.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the ACB, which organized a trap operation. During the operation at the Bilimora Port office, the accused was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting the bribe. Subsequently, ACB Navsari registered a case under Sections 7, 13(1)(g), and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

After a detailed judicial process, considering both oral and documentary evidence, the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Navsari, convicted the accused. He has been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000 under Sections 7, 13(1)(g), and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. DeshGujarat