Chhattisgarh HC grants bail to JCC leader Richa Jogi in fake ST caste certificate case

The FIR was filed by the assistant commissioner of the Mungeli district tribal welfare department through a letter addressed to the Mungeli police demanding cognizance and action in the matter.

Bilaspur: The Chhatisgarh High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to Richa Jogi -- a Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) leader and the wife of JCC chief Amit Jogi -- in the fake scheduled caste certificate case. Richa had moved to the High Court after her arrest, made on the basis of an FIR filed in November 2022.

Richa has meanwhile alleged that the state government is trying to implicate her with a sense of revenge, further alleging harassment of her husband and father-in-law former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi by the state government. The case was speculated to be a potential toll on the political career of her husband as well as her father-in-law.

The FIR was filed by the assistant commissioner of the Mungeli district tribal welfare department through a letter addressed to the Mungeli police demanding cognizance and action in the matter. Two years prior to that, the Mungeli district administration had suspended the Scheduled Tribes certificate obtained by Richa Jogi in July 2020 based on suspicions of it being a fake one. The authorities had also sought a response in the matter from Richa.

To investigate the matter further, the state government had also set up a High-Level Certification Scrutiny Committee, seeking the submission of a report on the matter. The Committee, in the report procured in June 2021, had stated that Richa Jogi's caste certificate was not legal. It also recommended action against her in the matter.

The incident unfolded during the Marwahi assembly by-elections in 2020. Richa was barred from contesting the elections because of the FIR. Calling the move a political gimmick, Jogi had blamed the state government led by Congress, claiming she "will not bow down in front of the Congress government".