Chhattisgarh HC sentences Amit Jogi to life imprisonment in 2003 Ramavatar Jaggi murder case

Public Lokpal
April 06, 2026

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh High Court has overturned the 2007 acquittal of Amit Jogi, son of the state's first Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, sentencing him to life imprisonment for the 2003 murder of NCP leader Ramavatar Jaggi.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma accepted the CBI’s appeal, reversing the May 31, 2007, verdict of the Raipur trial court.

The court found Amit Jogi, a former MLA, guilty under Section 302 (Murder) and Section 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Along with the life term, a fine of ₹1,000 has been imposed, failing which he will undergo an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment.

Jogi meanwhile has filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court citing that the appeal of CBI was admitted by the high court without granting a fair opportunity for a hearing in the murder case in which he is convicted.

The Court observed that it was legally inconsistent to convict 28 other accused based on the same testimony while acquitting the alleged main conspirator. While the special court in 2007 had sentenced individuals like Yahya Dhebar, Chiman Singh and others, Amit Jogi had been acquitted due to a purported lack of evidence. The case was recently reopened following directives from the Apex Court.

Ram Avatar Jaggi, a prominent leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was shot dead on June 4, 2003.

Jaggi, a businessman by background, was known to be a staunch loyalist of veteran leader and former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla. When Shukla left the Congress party to join the NCP, Jaggi followed him and was subsequently appointed as the NCP’s state treasurer in Chhattisgarh.

Out of the 31 accused in the case, two became state witnesses. Satish Jaggi, the son of the deceased leader, had challenged Amit Jogi's acquittal in the Supreme Court, which eventually remanded the matter back to the high court for a fresh merit-based hearing.

During the final hearings in late March and April 2026, the high court noted that the defense attempted to use "dilatory tactics" by repeatedly changing counsel to seek adjournments. The bench rejected these requests, emphasising the Supreme Court's mandate for an "expeditious disposal" of the decades-old case.

The latest high court order marks a turning point in one of Chhattisgarh's longest-running politically charged legal battles.