CJP Leaders Withdraw Plea Against Judicial Custody Extension
Cockroach Janta Party leaders withdrew a Delhi High Court petition challenging their judicial custody after the court questioned their legal remedy and conduct.
Leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, withdrew a petition from the Delhi High Court on October 21. The pair had challenged an October 19 order by a Special Executive Magistrate that extended their judicial custody until October 21.
Das and Ranka were detained on October 13 for allegedly trespassing into Jantar Mantar, a denotified protest site, by climbing a locked gate to unfurl the national flag and protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The CJP alleged that bail proceedings for the leaders were deliberately delayed to prevent their release.
During the hearing, Justice Subramonium Prasad questioned why the petitioners filed a writ petition under Article 226 instead of seeking a revision remedy. He expressed concern that breaking barricades could encourage further violations of prohibitory orders and noted that the petitioners had allegedly broken a peace bond for a second time. The leaders withdrew their plea after the court suggested they await the outcome of the magistrate's reconsideration of their sureties.
In a related matter heard during the Dussehra vacation, Neha Bora, president of the All India Students' Association, petitioned the court against a Delhi Police notice requiring her to execute a peace bond. Bora had been held in preventive detention on October 16 while traveling to a CJP march.
