A Special Executive Magistrate in Delhi ordered the release of Cockroach Janta Party co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on October 21, after their sureties were submitted during proceedings in a case linked to their alleged entry into the denotified protest site at Jantar Mantar.
The two leaders were produced before the SEM after Delhi Police sought a three-day extension of their custody. Their judicial custody had initially been ordered for five days on October 14, following their detention over allegations that they entered the restricted protest area and violated peace bonds.
Their custody was extended by two days on October 19 and was scheduled to expire on October 21. The SEM subsequently ordered their release after considering the proceedings and accepting the submitted sureties.
The case relates to the regulation of demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest location in central Delhi. The report said the site had been denotified, and that the two leaders were detained after allegedly entering it. The allegations have not been treated as a finding of guilt in the proceedings described.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Delhi High Court declined to interfere with the custody order. The High Court asked Das and Ranka to await the outcome of the hearing before the SEM and to approach the appellate court if their grievance continued, according to the report.
The developments place the use of peace bonds and restrictions around protest sites at the centre of the case. Peace bonds are preventive legal measures requiring individuals to maintain public order for a specified period. In this matter, the police action and subsequent court hearings followed the alleged breach of those conditions.
The proceedings also illustrate the separate roles played by Delhi’s policing and executive-magisterial systems in public-order cases. The police sought a further extension of custody, while the SEM considered the custody proceedings and the sureties before ordering the release of the two leaders.
Das and Ranka had arrived at Mandir Marg Police Station in a police vehicle to be produced before the SEM. The case has also been heard in the Delhi High Court in relation to allegations that the leaders broke barricades to enter the Jantar Mantar area.
The immediate next step reported in the matter is the release of the two CJP leaders following the SEM’s order. The High Court has indicated that the leaders may approach the appellate court if their grievance remains unresolved.
