SC stays life sentence of ex-Chhattisgarh CM's son Amit Jogi
What's the story
The Supreme Court has stayed the conviction and life sentence of Amit Jogi, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi. The decision was taken by a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Vijay Bishnoi. The stay comes on an appeal filed by Amit against an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court, which had overturned his acquittal by a trial court in the 2003 murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ramavatar Jaggi.
Case details
Jaggi was murdered in political conspiracy
Jaggi was gunned down in Raipur on June 4, 2003, allegedly due to a political conspiracy. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the investigation from state police and filed a charge sheet against several accused, including Amit. On May 31, 2007, a special CBI court acquitted Amit but convicted other accused in the case. However, Jaggi's son appealed against this acquittal before the high court.
Acquittal and conviction
Amit was acquitted by special CBI court
Earlier this month, a bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma overturned the trial court verdict and found Amit guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy. In a sharply worded order, the court stated that when numerous accused are charged with the same offense and the evidence against them is identical, selective acquittal of one accused is unjustifiable in the absence of distinct and compelling grounds. The court directed him to surrender within three weeks.