Jaggi murder case: SC asks CBI to come up with strong grounds

The Supreme Court today asked CBI to come up with strong grounds for seeking condonation of delay on filing the appeal against the acquittal of Amit Jogi, son of former Chhatishgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, in a 2003 murder case.
A bench of Justices J S Khehar and A M Khanwilkar asked Amit Jogi to file a reply in two days on the plea of CBI seeking condonation of delay to file the appeal against the 2007 acquittal order of the trial court in NCP leader Ram Avtar Jaggi muerder case.
"You (CBI) have to come up with strong grounds for condonation of delay to file the appeal before the high court as now he (Amit Jogi) has an acquittal order in his favour. This weighs very heavily on our shoulder," the bench said.

The counsel for CBI said that there was delay of around 1300 days in filing the appeal before the high court and the agency has appropriate grounds to seek condonation of delay.
He said that the permission to file the appeal was not granted to CBI earlier by the competent authority and when it got the permission, the appeal was filed.
"We cannot allow you to have some fallacious ground. You should have some good grounds. Now he has an acquittal order with him and we need to consider this fact also," the bench said.

Advocate Atul Jha, appearing for the Chhattisgarh government, said that when CBI did not filed the appeal, the state filed the appeal.

He assailed an earlier judgment of the apex court in alleged disproportionate assets case of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav which said that state or other prosecuting agencies have no right of appeal in a matter investigated by CBI.
Jha contended that the said judgement in Yadav's case was erroneous and CBI could not be allowed to have unbridled power of resorting to 'pick and choose strategy' for filing appeal.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing to December 14.
CBI has moved the apex court challenging dismissal of its appeal by the high court against acquittal of Amit Jogi in the murder case on the ground of delay of over three-and-a-half years.

(Reopens LGD27)
The state government had filed the appeal before the high court in 2011 challenging his acquittal but the petition was dismissed on the ground that only CBI, being a prosecuting agency, had the jurisdiction to file the appeal.
Both the state government and CBI have moved the apex court against dismissal of their respective appeals against Jogi.
Jaggi was shot dead on June 4, 2003 and five persons were arrested by the state police and a charge sheet was filed against them holding that the motive of the murder was robbery.
The case was handed over to CBI in January 2004 and the agency filed a charge sheet against 31 persons stating that Jaggi was shot dead by convict Chiman Singh for political reasons as a rally was being organised by him in Raipur on June 10, 2003, which posed a political threat to the then chief minister Ajit Jogi and his son Amit.

CBI had alleged the murder was committed after a criminal conspiracy between Amit Jogi and others.
The trial court had on May 31, 2007 acquitted Amit Jogi and convicted all other 28 accused persons.