Bypoll 'fixing': HC grants anticipatory bail to Ajit Jogi, son

The Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) supremo and former state chief minister Ajit Jogi and his son Amit in connection with the alleged fixing of Antagarh bypoll held in 2014.

The bench of Justice Arvind Singh Chandel accepted the anticipatory bail pleas of the Jogi father-son duo, petitioners' lawyer Vivek Sharma said.

In February last year, Raipur police had lodged a case against Ajit Jogi, son Amit Jogi, former chief minister Raman Singh's son-in-law Dr Puneet Gupta, former state minister Rajesh Munat and former MLA Maturam Pawar in connection with the Antagarh bypoll row, based on the complaint of a Congress leader Kiranmayee Nayak, he said.

The Congress government in the state had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in January last year to probe the case that took place during the previous BJP rule.

In April 2019, the high court had granted anticipatory bail plea to Dr Gupta, Munat and Pawar in this case.

In 2015-16, a CD audio tape was leaked, which had purported conversations suggesting exchange of money to make Pawar, the then Congress candidate in the 2014 Antagarh Assembly (Kanker district) bypoll (2014), withdraw at the last minute to facilitate the BJP nominee's victory.

The tape had triggered a huge political storm in the state.

The Antagarh bypoll was won by BJP's Bhojraj Nag.

Pawar, who pulled out a day before the last date for withdrawal, was expelled from Congress.

The audio tape suggested that his withdrawal was at the behest of the BJP and was facilitated by former chief minister Ajit Jogi.

The tape contained several phone conversations purportedly of Ajit Jogi, his son Amit, Puneet Gupta, Pawar and former Jogi loyalists Firoz Siddiqui and Ameen Memon, to "fix" the bypoll.