On Monday, the High Court of Bombay at Goa granted relief to former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and former Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao in the ongoing Louis Berger bribery case. The court set aside an earlier order from the Special Court that had taken cognizance of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ruling was based on the ED's failure to secure prior government sanction as required under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Justice Ashish Chavan highlighted that the Special Court should not have proceeded without this sanction, which is a prerequisite when public servants are accused of offenses related to their official duties. Kamat and Alemao were accused of accepting bribes totaling ₹50 lakh (approximately $60,000 USD) to expedite clearances for a project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The investigation began after raids in 2015, during which financial documents were seized, leading to the attachment of properties worth ₹1.95 crore (roughly $240,000 USD). The scandal gained further attention when officials from the Louis Berger Group admitted to bribing officials in several countries, including India, to secure contracts.