SC grants bail to 2 convicts in two-decade-old murder case of Chhattisgarh NCP leader

PTI, Nov 26, 2024, 2:01 PM IST

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the life imprisonment of two convicts in the 2003 murder case of Nationalist Congress Party leader Ram Avatar Jaggi in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur.

Jaggi, the treasurer of the NCP headed by late Vidya Charan Shukla in Chhattisgarh, was fatally shot on June 4 while driving.

The murder occurred amidst rising political tensions, with the NCP planning a massive rally in Raipur just days later, posing a significant challenge to the then-incumbent Congress-led government under Chief Minister Ajit Jogi.

The politically charged case had shaken the state ahead of the 2003 Assembly elections.

The Chhattisgarh High Court, on April 4, upheld the life imprisonment sentences of 28 individuals for their involvement in Jaggi’s murder case.

The top court bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, on Tuesday, heard submissions of various lawyers including senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for one of the convicts.

The bench rejected the plea of suspension of sentence and the grant of bail to convict Yahya Dhebar.

It, however, granted bail and suspended the life term of two convicts — Abhay Goyal and Feroz Sidhiquie.

The bench, which is seized of as many as 14 petitions of the accused against the high court verdict and seeking bail, said it would hear the other petitions in the week commencing December 9.

The bench said the 14 appeals of the convicts against the high court verdict will also be listed for final hearing shortly.

The murder case was initially investigated by the state police. However, it was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation and took a dramatic turn when allegations surfaced of a politically motivated cover-up.

The CBI probe revealed a deep conspiracy involving hired criminals, police complicity, and attempts to frame imposters to shield the real culprits.

The high court affirmed that the murder stemmed from political rivalry and held that the accused conspired to eliminate Jaggi to disrupt the NCP’s growing influence.

The prosecution argued that the murder was orchestrated by close associates of the then chief minister Jogi and his son, Amit Jogi. Amit Jogi was acquitted.

The high court held that the testimonies and evidence pointed to the meetings between the accused at prominent locations, including the chief minister’s residence and local hotels, where the plot was allegedly hatched.

It highlighted the involvement of three police officers — V K Pandey, Amrik Singh Gill, and Rakesh Chandra Trivedi — and said that they played pivotal roles in concealing evidence and framing false suspects.

The high court noted that professional criminals were hired to execute the murder, and their involvement was corroborated by circumstantial evidence.

The high court had dismissed appeals under the Code of Criminal Procedure stating that the circumstantial evidence and the chain of events conclusively pointed to the appellants’ guilt.

The high court had convicted 28 accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to life terms.

Several accused, including Chiman Singh and Yahya Dhebar, received life imprisonment.

The high court had convicted 28 people in the case — Pandey, Goyal, Sidhiquie, Trivedi, Dhebar, Avinash Singh alias Lallan Singh, Suryakant Tiwari, Amrik Singh Gill, Chiman Singh, Harish Chandra, Narsi Sharma, Sunil Gupta, Raju Bhadauriya, Anil Pachauri, Ravindra Singh alias Ravi Singh, Lalla Bhadauriya alias Dharmendra Singh.

Satyendra Singh, Shivendra Singh Parihar, Vinod Singh Rathore, Sanjay Singh Kushwaha, Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Ashok Singh Bhadoriya, Vivek Singh, Jambwant, Shyam Sunder, Vinod Singh Rajput and Vishwanath Rajbhar were the other convicted people.