Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi's son life-sentenced in 2003 murder case
What's the story
The Chhattisgarh High Court has sentenced former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi's son Amit Jogi to life imprisonment in the 2003 murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ramavatar Jaggi. He was convicted last week. The court overturned a previous acquittal by a trial court in 2007 and directed him to surrender within three weeks.
Legal proceedings
Supreme Court intervened in the case
The high court had reopened the case after the Supreme Court intervened following a plea by the CBI against Amit's acquittal. The SC noted that while there was a delay in filing the application, it was also true that the charges were very grave, involving a conspiracy to murder a member of a rival political party. Last Thursday, a division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma convicted Amit and set aside his earlier acquittal.
Personal response
Amit reacts to High Court's order
Reacting to the High Court's order, Amit expressed his disappointment on social media platform X. He said he was denied a chance to be heard before his conviction. "I regret that a person who had been acquitted by a court has now been declared guilty without even a single chance for a hearing. This has never happened before," he wrote.
Case
Jaggi was shot dead in Raipur on June 4, 2003
NCP politician Jaggi was shot dead in Raipur on June 4, 2003, when Ajit was the CM of Chhattisgarh. The state police initially investigated the matter before transferring it to the CBI, which filed a chargesheet against multiple defendants, including Amit. On May 31, 2007, a trial court in Raipur ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven the charges against 28 defendants. It, however, cleared Amit of the charges brought against him.
SC
CBI had challenged acquittal
The CBI later challenged the acquittal, but in 2011, the high court rejected its petition due to delay. Separate appeals by the Chhattisgarh government and Satish Jaggi, Jaggi's son, were also denied. In November of last year, the Supreme Court asked the Chhattisgarh High Court to reconsider the CBI's petition for permission to file an appeal against Amit's acquittal, saying the HC ought to have adopted a "more liberal and pragmatic approach" in dealing with the CBI's plea.