The Delhi High Court is set to urgently hear petitions filed by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who have challenged the extension of their judicial custody ordered by a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM). Justice Subramonium Prasad agreed to hear the matter during the Dussehra court vacation. The court will also hear a separate petition filed by All India Students’ Association (AISA) President Neha Bora, who has challenged a Delhi Police notice directing her to execute a personal bond of Rs 10,000 under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to maintain peace during an ongoing inquiry.
The legal dispute stems from protests held earlier this month. Das and Ranka were detained on October 13 after allegedly entering the now-denotified Jantar Mantar protest site by crossing locked barricades and displaying the national flag while raising slogans against the Chief Election Commissioner. They were initially sent to judicial custody and later remanded again by a Special Executive Magistrate. Meanwhile, Neha Bora was taken into preventive detention on October 16 while heading to participate in the CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march and was released the following day. Her petition argues against the police directive requiring her to furnish a bond for maintaining public peace.
In a significant development, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has taken over investigation of a second case involving Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, meaning the agency is now probing two separate cases against the CJP leaders. Police allege that the protesters trespassed into the restricted protest site through private property and obstructed officers from performing their duties. The CJP, however, has claimed that the legal proceedings, including the bail process, have been deliberately delayed to keep its leaders behind bars. The Delhi High Court’s hearing is expected to determine the legality of the custody extension and address concerns raised over the police action and preventive measures taken against the protesters.
