CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday after furnishing personal and surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each and undertaking not to call for protests at Jantar Mantar until the site is de-notified.
The release was ordered by Special Executive Magistrate Ritu Raj, an ACP in Delhi Police, in preventive proceedings initiated by Parliament Street police. The two activists were required to provide written assurances relating to peace, law and order and public tranquillity, and must appear at every hearing in the case.
In their undertakings, Ranka and Das stated: “I undertake and promise not to commit any breach of peace.” They also reiterated their commitment to peace, law and order and specifically promised that they would not make calls for protests at Jantar Mantar until the site is de-notified.
The two were detained after allegedly attempting to enter the barricaded Jantar Mantar protest site by climbing its gates on October 13 during a protest against SIR. They were first produced before the special executive magistrate on October 14 and were sent to five days of judicial custody. That custody was extended by two days on October 19.
The magistrate held that further judicial custody was not necessary at this stage. The investigating officer had sought an additional three days of custody, citing a continuing apprehension of a breach of peace. The magistrate concluded that the concern could be addressed through peace bonds and written assurances instead.
The prosecution, led by counsel Bhairav Dass and Prashant Prakash, argued that the activists’ statements to the court and the media were contradictory. It also alleged that media remarks made by a CJP member while the activists were being taken to Tihar Jail on an earlier hearing date undermined the “majesty of the SEM courts”.
Advocates Abhik Chimni and Pranjal Abrol responded with an unconditional verbal apology to the magistrate. They reiterated their clients’ commitment to peace and said that any protest would remain within the “four corners of the Constitution”.
The release follows an earlier dispute over sureties. The magistrate had rejected the activists’ previous sureties, citing identification discrepancies and doubts about whether the sureties could ensure their presence. Ranka and Das challenged the October 19 order before the Delhi High Court but withdrew the plea after being advised to await the outcome of the hearing before the magistrate.
The sureties furnished by the two activists will be verified before the next hearing on October 23. The case remains linked to the preventive proceedings concerning the police apprehension that their conduct could disturb public tranquillity.
