Cockroach Janta Party co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court, challenging an order that extended their judicial custody by two more days in connection with their detention over a protest at Jantar Mantar.
The petition, filed through advocate Abhik Chimni, describes the extension order passed on October 19 by a newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate as illegal, arbitrary and a violation of their fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The two leaders have sought an urgent hearing — even a night hearing, if permitted — pointing out that the High Court is closed this week for the Dussehra vacation; the petition is expected to be taken up on Wednesday.
At the heart of their challenge is the manner in which the magistrate dealt with the sureties they offered. The plea contends that the magistrate arbitrarily exercised powers under Section 135(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and failed to follow the mandatory procedure laid down under Section 140 of the Sanhita while rejecting the sureties produced before him.
According to the petitioners, the sureties offered on October 19 met the legal requirements, two additional sureties were available at the time, and the finding that no other surety was present is factually disputed. "The mandatory procedure under Section 140 BNSS was not followed for rejecting the surety, showing complete misapplication of the law in the impugned order. That delay and obstruction in the acceptance and verification of sureties frustrates the very purpose of release," the plea states.
It adds that Das and Ranka have remained in custody for six days despite submitting the required sureties multiple times.
The petitioners have also questioned the public-order justification for keeping them behind bars. Their plea states that any curtailment of personal liberty must be backed by a real and proximate connection with a disturbance of public order, rather than a remote or speculative possibility of one.
Protesting at a site that has been denotified as a designated protest venue, they contend, raises at most a question of regulatory compliance and cannot by itself establish a threat to public order. The petition also flags established Delhi High Court precedent holding that individuals must be released on personal bond while the verification of sureties is still pending.
The Special Executive Magistrate's order, however, tells a different story. The court found shortcomings in the credentials of the proposed sureties. One proposed surety, Teerath, could not explain a discrepancy between the photograph on his bond and the one on his Aadhaar card, and failed to produce any other valid identity document.
Another, Mannu Raj Anand, could not provide basic details about Das, the very person for whom he had offered to stand surety. The court further noted that neither surety appeared capable of ensuring that the two leaders would present themselves before it when required. The magistrate also directed counsel for the leaders to file written submissions within two days, and listed the matter for further proceedings and any reply on October 21.
The magistrate recorded that Das and Ranka had allegedly breached the peace bonds they had furnished before the Special Executive Magistrate of the South-West District on October 11, and had subsequently committed a breach of peace in the present case.
Delhi Police justified the continued custody, submitting that the two leaders showed "no respect for law" and were habitual in calling protests at denotified areas, and that the investigating officer had placed substantial material on record raising concerns over the likelihood of a breach of peace and disturbance of public tranquillity. Their release, police argued, could pose an imminent threat to public order and lead to further violations and instigation of others.
The CJP's legal team countered that there was not an iota of evidence to suggest that the duo posed any threat, or that their release would disturb public order. The party has alleged that the bail proceedings in the case have been deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its two co-convenors. "We have moved the Delhi High Court and requested an urgent night hearing. Saurav and Ashutosh should not spend a single minute behind bars. Their liberty must not be curtailed because of political games. Justice must not wait," CJP spokesperson and legal head Ratna Singh posted on X on Tuesday.
The chain of events began on October 10, when Das and Ranka were apprehended at an airport on their arrival in Delhi, ahead of protests announced in the capital against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Preventive proceedings were initiated against them under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. They were released after being required to furnish peace bonds of Rs 50,000 each, undertaking to maintain peace and good behaviour for a year.
Days later, on October 13, the pair were taken into custody again after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had recently been denotified as a designated protest site.
Along with other CJP workers — the party's national organisation in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, was also seen with them in a video that Ranka himself shared on X — Das and Ranka displayed the national flag and raised slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Police personnel present at the site intervened and placed them under preventive arrest.
The next day, Executive Magistrate Mahesh Kumar Meena remanded the two leaders to five days of judicial custody, sending them to Tihar Jail. The remand order cited repeated violations of the law and the apprehension that their release would lead to further breaches of the peace and instigation of others.
On October 19, when the custody came up for review, the newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate extended it by two days after the leaders were produced at Mandir Marg police station.
Police have meanwhile transferred the cases registered after the October 13 protest to the Crime Branch for further investigation. The two-day extension granted on October 19 expires on Wednesday, October 21 — the same day the Special Executive Magistrate is expected to take a fresh call on their custody, and the High Court is expected to hear their petition.
Reports indicate that if the magistrate orders their release on Wednesday, the High Court petition will become redundant. As of late Tuesday, the court's cause list did not carry any listing for the week, though a decision on permitting an urgent listing and assembling a vacation bench was expected on Wednesday.
Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, meanwhile, appealed to people celebrating the festive season with their families to remember Das and Ranka, who remain unable to be with their own loved ones.
(Reporting based on Live Law, The Hindu, Hindustan Times and PTI.)