Raipur: The Chhattisgarh High Court, on Monday, sentenced Amit Jogi — son of former chief minister, the late Ajit Jogi— to life imprisonment for a murder he committed nearly 23 years ago.
Amit was convicted of murdering businessman and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ramavatar Jaggi in Raipur in 2003, when his father was the sitting chief minister of the state.
A trial court convicted 28 people in the case in 2007, but Amit was acquitted on the basis of benefit of the doubt.
The evidence made it amply clear that Amit Jogi was the mastermind of the entire conspiracy and he was also having the commanding position being the son of the then chief minister, the High Court said in its order, as reported by The Hindu.
It also came down heavily on the trial court for acquitting Amit while convicting others, calling its judgment palpably illegal, wrong, perverse, contrary to the evidence available on record and without any concrete basis.
“It is pertinent to note that the learned Trial Judge has unnecessarily attempted to distinguish the role of accused-Amit Jogi from that of the other co-accused/convicts. The finding that the co-accused acted independently to please Amit Jogi, without his knowledge, and in a manner not contemplated by him, is unsustainable. On the contrary, the evidence indicates that the plan to eliminate the NCP office bearers originated from Amit Jogi himself. Therefore, the distinction drawn by the learned Trial Judge is artificial, unwarranted, and devoid of merit,” the High Court order said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has approached the High Court in 2011, challenging the acquittal but the appeal was rejected on grounds of delay. The agency then moved the Supreme Court which referred the case back to the High Court last November.
“Later CBI moved the Supreme Court, upon which the case was referred to the High Court last November after condoning the delay. Subsequently, the Hon’ble High Court, on 02.03.2026, convicted Amit Jogi and directed him to surrender within three weeks before the court,” the CBI had said in a release.
Jaggi’s murder on June 4, 2003, created a sensation ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled in Chhattisgarh later that year. He was the treasurer of the NCP that was led by the late Vidya Charan Shukla in the state. His family had alleged that the emergence of NCP in the political fray posed a major challenge to the incumbent Congress.
Immediately after the order, Amit Jogi moved Supreme Court. The Apex Court directed him to file an appeal against the final judgment prior to April 20, 2026, so that all matters could be heard jointly and finally on the same day, according to a statement by Bhagwanu Nayak, chief spokesperson of the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) or JCCJ, a political party founded by the late Ajit Jogi.
