CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka sought an urgent Delhi High Court hearing against their extended detention. Their plea alleges procedural violations and an unconstitutional curtailment of personal liberty.
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Newdelhi,Oct 20, 2026 19:30 IST
Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka approached the Delhi High Court on Tuesday for an urgent hearing against the extension of their judicial custody, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
They requested a night hearing as the High Court is closed this week for the Dussehra vacation. A newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg police station had on Monday remanded them in judicial custody for two more days.
Das and Ranka were taken into custody on October 13 after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had earlier been removed from the list of designated protest sites. They were initially sent to five days in judicial custody.
According to PTI, CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said in a post on X: "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."
The CJP alleged that bail proceedings had been deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its two co-convenors.
In their petition, Das and Ranka challenged the special magistrate's order extending their judicial custody by two days. They alleged that the order violated legal procedure and their right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The petition described the order as illegal and arbitrary and sought to have it set aside. It said Das and Ranka had remained in custody for six days despite submitting the required sureties several times.
"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 petition said.
It added: "The Ld. SEM has arbitrarily exercised their powers to extend judicial custody of the petitioners under Section 135(3) BNSS. This is because the basis of judicial custody is 'in default of execution of the bond'. However, the basis is incorrect in view of the petitioners' sureties produced on 19.10.2026 being in accordance with law."
The petition also argued that restricting the petitioners' liberty in the interest of public order required a "proximate and real nexus with disturbance of public order" rather than a remote possibility. It said protesting at a site that was no longer designated for demonstrations was, at most, a regulatory issue and not a threat to public order.
Das and Ranka, along with other CJP workers, displayed the national flag at the site and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained and placed under preventive arrest on October 13. A Special Executive Magistrate first sent them to judicial custody for five days on October 14.
Their associate Ajinkya Shinde was ordered to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months. He was released on a personal bond and a surety of Rs 5,000.
Delhi Police said the protesters had allegedly entered the site through private premises and obstructed police personnel from carrying out their official duties, PTI reported.
Das and Ranka have now asked the Delhi High Court to urgently set aside the extension of their custody, arguing that their sureties were submitted in accordance with the law and that their continued detention violated their right to liberty.
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