Former IAS officer Pradeep Sharma’s conviction in a money-laundering case on Saturday has once again reopened one of Gujarat’s most politically sensitive bureaucratic battles — the long-running dispute between the Sharma brothers and the state’s top leadership during the years when Narendra Modi was chief minister.
The Special PMLA court in Ahmedabad sentenced Sharma to five years in prison and imposed a fine of ₹50,000, holding him guilty of laundering funds allegedly received in exchange for the allocation of government land to the Welspun Group between 2003 and 2006, when he served as Kutch district collector.
Special Judge K.M. Sojitra ordered that all properties provisionally attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remain confiscated by the Union government.
THE CURRENT CASE: LAND AT CONCESSIONAL RATES
According to the ED, Sharma misused his position as chairman of the district land pricing committee to approve the allotment of a large tract of government land in Bhuj to Welspun India Ltd. and its associate companies at significantly lower rates than the ones fixed by the state.
Investigators alleged that ₹29.5 lakh — described as illegal gratification — was routed into the NRO bank account of Sharma’s wife, who lives in the United States. The money was allegedly used to repay a housing loan and purchase agricultural land. The ED further claimed that Sharma’s wife was made a 30% partner in Value Packaging Pvt Ltd between 2004 and 2007, a company that investigators described as a “special purpose vehicle” to channel funds linked to the land allotment.
Sharma was also accused of using a mobile SIM card issued by the company, with bills worth ₹2.24 lakh reportedly paid by Welspun between 2004 and 2009.
LONG LIST OF CASES SINCE 2010
Sharma’s latest conviction is not his first. Over the past 15 years, he has faced a series of cases:
• March 2010 (CID Crime, Rajkot): FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act alleging allotment irregularities
• September 2010: Second FIR under the IPC for causing alleged losses to the state
• 2012: ED files a PMLA case based on the 2010 FIRs
• 2014: ACB accuses him of granting non-agricultural land status to a Welspun-associated firm within 40 days
• 2025: Bhuj court sentences him to five years in prison in the Saw Pipes Pvt Ltd land allotment case
His properties in Gandhinagar and other locations were attached during these investigations. Sharma has been in jail since the 2025 Bhuj verdict.
THE BACKSTORY: THE SHARMAS VS THE MODI ADMINISTRATION
The legal storm surrounding Pradeep Sharma cannot be fully understood without examining the turbulent case of his elder brother, Kuldeep Sharma, a senior IPS officer whose relationship with the then Modi-led Gujarat government became one of the most contentious bureaucratic clashes of the 2000s.
THE KULDEEP SHARMA CASE: A HIGH-PROFILE FALLING-OUT
Kuldeep Sharma, who served as Inspector General and later Additional Director General of Police, had a distinguished career — but his trajectory shifted dramatically after he fell out with the state leadership around 2005–06.
His key claims over the years — many of which he raised before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and courts — included:
• That he was denied promotions and sidelined from significant postings
• That multiple inquiries were initiated against him in retaliation for professional disagreements
• That he was transferred repeatedly and given positions lacking operational authority
• That he was targeted after refusing to act on political pressure in sensitive policing matters
Some CAT rulings partially validated his claims of improper treatment and procedural lapses. Other allegations remained unresolved or were dismissed. The Gujarat government consistently rejected any suggestion of vendetta, maintaining that all actions were taken strictly under service rules.
A BROTHERS’ BATTLE OR A SYSTEMIC PRESSURE POINT?
Pradeep Sharma repeatedly argued — in interviews, court applications and letters — that his prosecution was not solely about administrative decisions but was part of a broader pattern of hostility triggered by his brother’s clash with the state’s political establishment.
He claimed the number and timing of cases filed against him reflected retaliation, not genuine corruption concerns. The state denied this, insisting the cases were based on documentary evidence, financial trails and statutory violations.
The Pradeep–Kuldeep saga eventually became symbolic in Gujarat’s administrative circles — invoked privately by many civil servants as an example of how political friction can spill into personal and bureaucratic space.
A STORY THAT WON’T FADE
With Saturday’s judgment, Pradeep Sharma now faces prison time in two separate convictions. His appeals remain pending, and his legal team has long argued that the proceedings against him were influenced by the politically charged environment of the mid-2000s.
For critics of the Modi administration of that era, the Sharma cases remain emblematic of the tensions between assertive officers and political authority. For the state and central agencies, the convictions mark a victory in long-running corruption and money-laundering investigations.
What is certain is that the Sharma brothers’ confrontation with the Gujarat establishment has created one of the longest and most emotionally charged bureaucratic battles in the state’s recent history — and each new verdict brings those old faultlines back into public memory.
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