The Cockroach Janta Party on Sunday accused Delhi Police and state authorities of deliberately prolonging what it called the "illegal arrest" of two of its leaders, alleging that court proceedings were being delayed and bail sureties rejected on vague grounds to keep the men behind bars.
Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, the two CJP leaders at the centre of the dispute, were arrested on October 13 for entering Jantar Mantar by scaling its locked gates. Their detention came a day after the site was denotified as a designated protest venue, removing the formal permission for demonstrations at the iconic location. A court remanded the pair to five days of judicial custody on October 14, and on Sunday the two were spending their fifth day in Tihar Jail.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke launched a sharp attack on the authorities in a post on X, alleging that the state was using "every dirty trick in the book" to delay the court proceedings and prevent the release of the two men. "They have no legal grounds to keep them behind bars," he wrote, calling the continued detention unjustifiable.
The party's legal head, Ratna Singh, gave a detailed account of what she described as the obstruction of proceedings before the Special Executive Magistrate. According to Singh, a hearing that had been scheduled for noon was delayed for hours, with the magistrate and the public prosecutor finally arriving around 5:30 in the evening.
She alleged that once the proceedings did begin, the hearing was diverted to an alleged threatening message received by the magistrate, instead of focusing on the question of the release of Das and Ranka.
Singh further claimed that the public prosecutor had failed to appear for four consecutive days before suddenly arriving at the hearing. CJP's lawyers asked the magistrate to identify the sender of the alleged threatening message and initiate action against the sender, but their submissions were not heard, she said.
Delhi Police registered a non-cognisable report over the alleged threats received by the magistrate who was hearing the matter. There was no response from the police to the CJP's allegations of deliberate delay.
The party also pointed to the rejection of four bail sureties for the detained leaders. According to reports, the sureties were turned down on grounds that the CJP described as vague and unjustified, further complicating efforts to secure the release of Das and Ranka.
Separately, the CJP said it had warned of legal action against those allegedly responsible for keeping the two leaders in what it termed illegal custody, signalling that the dispute is likely to escalate into a longer legal confrontation.
The controversy unfolded against the backdrop of sporadic protests that continued for the eighth day on Sunday, with women activists leading demonstrations against the Chief Election Commissioner and the police action. The protests, which have drawn attention to questions about electoral processes and the treatment of demonstrators, showed little sign of dying down despite the arrests.
In a significant development, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who had himself been placed under preventive arrest by Delhi Police, was released by a Delhi court on Saturday after signing a peace bond. His release came a day before the party levelled its allegations about the continued detention of Das and Ranka.
The day's political temperature rose further when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed a public meeting in Margao. Gandhi had walked two kilometres with Congress workers during the 'Goy Rakhon Yatra' before addressing the gathering. Speaking at the meeting, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would "face justice and pay the price" over what he described as "vote chori".
Gandhi also criticised the use of pellet guns against student protesters, raising the issue of police action against demonstrators at a time when the capital is already witnessing sustained protests over police handling of agitations.
The allegations by the CJP have added another layer to an already tense standoff between the party and the authorities. The party contends that the entire sequence of events — from the arrest of its leaders for scaling the gates of Jantar Mantar to the repeated delays in court proceedings and the rejection of sureties — points to a deliberate strategy to keep Das and Ranka in custody for as long as possible.
The denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue has itself been a contentious issue. The site has long been the focal point of demonstrations in the national capital, and its removal from the list of approved protest venues a day before the CJP leaders entered it has been questioned by the party and its supporters.
For their part, the authorities have so far not responded to the specific allegations of deliberate delay levelled by the CJP. The registration of a non-cognisable report over the alleged threats to the magistrate has, however, introduced a new dimension to the case, with the party's legal team asking that the sender of the message be identified and acted against.
As the two leaders spend what could be their final day of the remand period in Tihar Jail, attention will now turn to the next hearing and whether the courts order their release. The CJP has made clear that it intends to pursue the matter both in court and in the court of public opinion, warning of legal action against those it holds responsible for the detention.
The continuing protests by women activists, now in their eighth day, underline the wider discontent that the case has tapped into. What began as a dispute over the arrest of two party leaders has broadened into a larger debate about the right to protest, the conduct of the police, and the functioning of democratic institutions — a debate that shows no sign of abating in the days ahead.
The developments come amid a wider political climate in which allegations of electoral malpractice have been a recurring theme. The 'vote chori' charge has featured prominently in recent political discourse, with opposition leaders repeatedly questioning the functioning of the Election Commission.
Against this backdrop, the arrest of protest leaders and the allegations of procedural delays have sharpened the focus on how dissent is handled by the authorities in the national capital.
(Reporting based on The Hindu, The New Indian Express and PTI.)