A Delhi High Court petition has challenged the judicial custody of CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were detained after allegedly climbing a gate to enter Jantar Mantar and protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The petition was filed on Tuesday, a day before a special executive magistrate is expected to decide whether their custody should be extended.
Das and Ranka were detained on October 13 after entering the area, which has been denotified as a protest site, according to the Times of India report. They have spent seven days in custody, including an initial five-day period followed by a two-day extension that is due to expire on Wednesday.
The two petitioners have sought an urgent hearing, but the Delhi High Court is closed for Dussehra. The court’s cause list had not included the matter as of late Tuesday, although sources cited in the report said a decision could be taken on Wednesday on whether to permit urgent listing and assemble a vacation bench.
The timing of any court hearing could determine the immediate relevance of the petition. If the executive magistrate releases the two men on Wednesday, their challenge to continued custody could become redundant, although the legal questions raised in the plea may remain before the court.
The petition alleges that the two-day remand order did not follow the procedure required under Section 140 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. It also alleges that the petitioners continued to remain in custody for six days despite submitting the required sureties multiple times. The plea describes the rejection, delay or obstruction in accepting and verifying the sureties as contrary to the purpose of release.
The petition further argues that restricting personal liberty in the interest of public order requires a “proximate and real nexus with disturbance of public order”, rather than a remote possibility. It contends that protesting at a denotified site is, at its highest, a question of regulating access to a designated public space and not necessarily a threat to public order.
The case places the administration of protest spaces and the exercise of executive-magisterial powers before the court. Jantar Mantar has historically been used for demonstrations, but access and permissions are subject to official restrictions. The detention followed an attempt to enter the site despite its denotification as a protest location.
Separately, Delhi Police has transferred the cases arising from the October 13 incident to its Crime Branch. The transfer means that the criminal cases and the immediate custody challenge are proceeding through separate institutional channels, with the magistrate’s decision on Wednesday expected to determine whether the two remain in custody.
The Delhi High Court has yet to decide whether the petition will receive an urgent hearing. The special executive magistrate is scheduled to consider the custody question on Wednesday.
