Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka withdrew their Delhi High Court plea challenging extended judicial custody. The court directed them to await the magistrate's ruling before pursuing an appeal.
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Newdelhi,Oct 21, 2026 14:06 IST
Cockroach Janta Party co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Wednesday withdrew their plea from the Delhi High Court challenging the extension of their judicial custody, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Justice Subramonium Prasad asked their counsel to await the outcome of a hearing scheduled before the Special Executive Magistrate later in the day and approach the appellate court if their grievance continued.
The judge allowed Das and Ranka to withdraw the case and clarified that he had not made any observation on its merits. During the hearing, the court orally observed that a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was not the appropriate remedy in the matter.
The case was heard urgently during the High Court's Dussehra break after the two leaders challenged the magistrate's October 19 order sending them to judicial custody for two days.
Das and Ranka were taken into custody on October 13 after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which was no longer a designated protest site. They were initially sent to judicial custody for five days.
A newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg police station extended their judicial custody until October 21 after they were produced before him on Monday, PTI reported.
Das and Ranka, along with other CJP workers, had displayed the national flag at the site and shouted slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained and placed under preventive arrest on October 13.
The two leaders have now withdrawn their High Court challenge and have been asked to first await the magistrate's decision before seeking relief from the appellate court.
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