RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court Friday heard arguments put forth by the counsel of former chief minister Ajit Jogi regarding his claim of belonging to a tribal community.
After more than three hours of arguments in favour of Ajit Jogi’s petition, the High Court fixed the next date of hearing on September 15 when the court would hear counter arguments from others. Jogi, in his writ petition, has challenged the report of the high-powered committee that rejected his claim on his
tribal status. Senior lawyers Brian DeSilve from Madhya Pradesh and Rahul Tyagi from Delhi argued for Jogi in the court.
“We have produced around 600-page petition in the high court highlighting the gross illegalities committed by the panel, whose decision was politically motivated and a conspiracy against us. We were
not served notice even once during the entire process of scrutiny ever since the committee was constituted,” Jogi’s son Amit Jogi told the New Indian Express.
Former BJP MP and chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Nand Kumar Sai, who earlier filed the petition against Jogi’s claim, had alleged that the ex-CM is claiming the tribal status through “forged” evidence.
The high-powered committee constituted by the state government on a directive of the Chhattisgarh High Court to examine the legitimacy of Ajit Jogi’s caste turned down the evidence that the bureaucrat-turned-politician had submitted in support of his claim that he belonged to the Kanwar tribe.
Following the decision by the high-powered committee, the Bilaspur collector had cancelled the tribal status certificate of Ajit Jogi in July last.