A Delhi court on Saturday granted conditional bail to Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the CJP, a day after the Delhi Police detained him while he was on his way to the party's planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' protest at Connaught Place in the national capital.
The order was passed by a court of the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) at Mandir Marg, which directed that Dipke be released upon furnishing a peace bond of Rs 50,000. His legal team confirmed the development, and CJP's head of legal affairs Ratna Singh announced the release in a post on social media, writing: "Abhijeet Dipke released."
Dipke had been detained by the Delhi Police on Friday, October 16, moments after he stepped out of his residence in Delhi's Jhandewalan area to proceed towards Central Park in Connaught Place for the proposed Tricolour march.
According to the police, he was placed under formal arrest in a fresh case registered for breach of peace under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the country's criminal procedure code that replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2024.
Section 126 of the BNSS empowers a magistrate to require a person to execute a bond or furnish a surety for keeping the peace, while Section 170 grants the police the authority to make preventive arrests to avert the commission of a cognisable offence or any apprehended breach of peace.
The Delhi Police said the action against Dipke was taken strictly within the framework of these provisions and that he had been produced before the SEM court after completing all statutory protocols.
The police also told the media that Dipke had been served two notices directing him not to visit Central Park and had failed to comply with the directions. Authorities further contended before the magistrate that he had violated the conditions of a peace bond furnished following an earlier detention on October 10, a claim his legal team has disputed.
Dipke was not the only one picked up ahead of the protest. All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was detained while she was marching from Mandi House towards the protest site. Bora was released early on Saturday after completing formalities related to her detention under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act. She, along with Dipke, had been taken into preventive custody to head off the planned gathering.
The CJP's legal affairs chief, Ratna Singh, who appeared for Dipke before the magistrate, challenged the legality of his detention and urged the SEM court to order his immediate release, alleging gross violations of fundamental rights and due process. In a post on X ahead of the hearing, Singh wrote, "The SEM Court should release Abhijeet Dipke, as his arrest is unlawful. He merely urged people to unfurl the Tiranga - how can that by itself be a crime?"
Singh also complained about delays in the court proceedings on Saturday. "The hearing was supposed to happen at 12 p.m. It's 3:38 p.m. and no sign of it. If this isn't deliberate, then what is? Release Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Abhijeet Dipke along with other detainees. You can't take away people's liberty by delaying the entire process," she wrote.
Bora, speaking to reporters after her release, demanded that all detained and arrested protesters, including Dipke, be set free immediately. "During this movement, they (police) have been detaining people illegally in the evening and releasing them the next morning or evening. We do not understand which law allows these kinds of detentions. The protesters who have been detained should be released, including Abhijeet Dipke. The sort of curfew that has been imposed in central Delhi should also end," she said.
Several lawyers were reportedly denied entry to the court premises by security personnel while the hearing was underway outside the magistrate's chamber, a detail that has drawn criticism from the CJP's legal camp.
The 'Lehra Do Tiranga' demonstration is linked to the CJP's demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. The party has been running a campaign questioning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, and tensions have escalated in the national capital over the past week with a series of detentions connected to the protest programme.
Significantly, CJP activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka are already in judicial custody after they attempted to enter the Jantar Mantar area, the designated protest zone in central Delhi. On Friday, Ratna Singh had accused the state of deliberately delaying bail proceedings to prevent the release of the two activists, alleging that four sureties tendered on their behalf had been rejected without adequate reason.
The Dipke hearing therefore unfolded against the backdrop of a widening confrontation between the party and the authorities over the right to assemble.
The bail order brings a degree of closure to Dipke's own detention, though the conditions attached to it are not insignificant. The magistrate directed him to furnish a surety bond of Rs 50,000 and to comply with the bond conditions, which include maintaining peace.
Once the bond formalities at the Mandir Marg police station are completed, Dipke is expected to walk out of custody, bringing to an end a detention that has lasted less than 48 hours but has generated considerable political heat.
The development underscores how preventive-detention provisions under the BNSS are increasingly at the centre of disputes between protesting groups and law enforcement in Delhi.
Legal observers note that Sections 126 and 170 are designed as precautionary tools, yet their frequent invocation in connection with political demonstrations continues to invite judicial scrutiny over the balance between maintaining public order and safeguarding the fundamental right to peaceful assembly.
The CJP has indicated that its campaign for electoral-roll transparency will continue, and the party's next steps will be closely watched, particularly as the bail hearings for Das and Ranka proceed and as the broader controversy over the electoral roll revision plays out in courts and on the streets.
(Reporting based on Bar and Bench, The Week, and India TV.)