In a significant ruling impacting Chhattisgarh’s political scenario, the High Court has handed former MLA Amit Jogi, son of the late Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, a life sentence and a Rs 1,000 fine for the 2003 murder of NCP leader Ram Avatar Jaggi. The court, led by Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma, made this decision following the CBI’s appeal and a plea for harsher punishment.
Amit Jogi, previously acquitted by the trial court in 2007, was found guilty of criminal conspiracy to murder under Section 120-B of the IPC, along with murder and mischief charges under Sections 302/34 and 427/34 of the Indian Penal Code by the High Court. The victim, Ram Avatar Jaggi, a well-known businessman and NCP figure, was fatally shot in Raipur on June 4, 2003, during Ajit Jogi’s tenure as Chief Minister.
The CBI alleged a wider conspiracy involving Amit Jogi and others like Yahya Dhebar, Abhay Goyal, and Firoz Siddiqui, with a total of 31 individuals accused in the case. While 28 accused were convicted in the 2007 trial court ruling, Amit Jogi was acquitted, leading to an appeal by the victim’s son, Satish Jaggi, eventually resulting in the recent High Court decision.
