CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das' judicial custody extended by two days

The judicial custody of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das was extended by two days on Monday (Oct 19) by a Special Executive Magistrate. The two leaders will be produced before the magistrate again on Wednesday.

They were detained following a protest at Jantar Mantar, where they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter the premises. The site had earlier been removed from the list of designated protest locations.

CJP questions court proceedings

CJP's legal head, Ratna Singh, criticised the proceedings and alleged that there were no legal grounds to keep the two leaders in custody.

"What we witnessed today was nothing short of a circus. An inquiry should be conducted into the way people's liberty is being crushed and how things are being handled here. There was absolutely nothing presented today to justify such concerns," she said.

Singh added that the party's lawyers had focused on legal arguments, while the other side had failed to establish any apprehension of future protests or a breach of peace.

She also questioned the rejection of sureties, arguing that pending verification alone should not be grounds for continued detention.

"The entire atmosphere here is deeply concerning. I think SDM courts should be abolished because they are compromised. They have rejected the sureties. Advocates were explaining the law here that if the sureties are under verification, that alone cannot be grounds to keep someone in judicial custody. There is no apprehension here, no threat, and there has been no call from our side. Yet they were sent to judicial custody for two days," Singh said.

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Party says leaders were protesting peacefully

The CJP has maintained that Ranka and Das entered Jantar Mantar to unfurl the national flag and raise slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The two leaders and other party workers were detained after the demonstration.

The party has also alleged that authorities are deliberately delaying the bail proceedings to prevent the release of its leaders.

CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke expressed support for the detained leaders in a social media post.

"Ashu and Saurav's first crime was waving the Tiranga at Jantar Mantar. Their second crime? Refusing to back down. Even after five days in jail, they walked into court with smiles on their faces, their spirits unbroken," Dipke wrote.