The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has moved the Delhi High Court against the continued detention of its leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, alleging that a Special Executive Magistrate’s order extending their custody breached procedural safeguards and their fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The party has sought an urgent hearing, including a possible night hearing, and asked the court to direct the immediate release of the two leaders, who are lodged in Tihar Jail. Their detention was extended by two days on Monday, taking the total period to seven days, according to the petition and details reported by The Indian Express.
Das and Ranka were arrested on October 14 after allegedly breaching security and entering Jantar Mantar during protests. The order signed by Special Executive Magistrate Ritu Raj, an ACP-rank officer with the Delhi Police, stated that their conduct did not inspire “confidence”, that they had “no respect for law” and that they had habitually called for protests at a de-notified site.
The CJP has disputed the basis and procedure of the detention. According to its writ petition, Das and Ranka were first detained on October 10 after arriving at Delhi Airport and were detained again on October 13 for allegedly carrying the national flag at Jantar Mantar. On October 14, the petition claimed, the SEM remanded them to judicial custody without specifying the duration of custody or the amount of the bond.
The party further alleged that bank-verified sureties and fixed deposit receipts submitted by its counsel on October 16 and 19 were rejected on what it described as “trivial pretexts”. It also claimed that two additional sureties with valid bonds and fixed deposit receipts were present but were not considered.
The petition cited the Delhi High Court’s ruling in Aldanish Rein vs State of NCT of Delhi, arguing that detainees should be released on personal bonds while verification of sureties is pending. The CJP has also challenged the extension of custody under Section 135(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, alleging that the SEM relied on police applications despite the absence of a registered first information report.
The party has described the order as a mechanical exercise and contrary to established Supreme Court jurisprudence on preventive action. Its legal head, Ratna Singh, said there was no justification for keeping the two leaders in custody for seven consecutive days and alleged that the grounds cited by the SEM had been adopted from police applications.
The case places Delhi’s regulation of protests and preventive action before the High Court, with the immediate issue being whether the detention and rejection of the proposed sureties followed the required legal procedure. The court’s response to the request for an urgent hearing and release will determine the next stage of the matter.
