Chattisgarh: The Chhattisgarh High Court has sentenced Amit Jogi, son of former chief minister Ajit Jogi, to life imprisonment in connection with the 2003 murder of Ramavatar Jaggi.
The order, dated April 2, was passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma. The court set aside a 2007 trial court judgment that had acquitted Amit Jogi, terming it “palpably illegal, wrong, and contrary to the evidence on record.”
The High Court held Amit Jogi guilty under Section 302 (murder) read with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and awarded life imprisonment. It also imposed a fine of ₹1,000, with an additional six months’ imprisonment in case of default.
NCP leader Ramavatar Jaggi was shot dead on June 4, 2003, when Ajit Jogi was serving as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The case was initially probed by state police before being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which later filed a chargesheet naming Amit Jogi among the accused.
In May 2007, a trial court in Raipur convicted several accused but acquitted Amit Jogi. The CBI challenged the acquittal, but its plea was dismissed by the High Court in 2011 due to delay. Appeals filed by the state government and the victim’s family were also rejected.
However, in November last year, the Supreme Court of India directed the High Court to reconsider the matter. Acting on these directions, the High Court reopened the case and ultimately overturned the acquittal, leading to the conviction.
The ruling marks a significant development in a case that has spanned over two decades, bringing a major legal turnaround in the high-profile murder trial.
