Delhi HC may hear Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka’s challenge to their judicial custody today.
Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), moved the Delhi High Court on Tuesday against a special executive magistrate’s order extending their judicial custody. Their lawyers are expected to press for a hearing today.
The two are in custody in a case concerning an alleged violation of a peace bond. They had sought an urgent hearing, but the matter did not make it to Tuesday’s cause list. According to LiveLaw, their counsel will renew the request on Wednesday.
Dipke stands by Das and Ranka
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke voiced support for the party’s co-convenors, noting that they are spending the festive season away from their families.
Dipke acknowledged that he might be mocked for showing emotion, but said he cared deeply for Das and Ranka and regarded them as family.
“Some people will mock me for getting emotional, but my feelings are my strength. Those two are my family, and this is how much I care for them,” he said during an Instagram livestream.
Background: why Das and Ranka were jailed
The case stems from CJP protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
On October 11, Delhi Police revoked Jantar Mantar’s status as an approved protest venue. That move is being separately contested in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.
On October 13, Das and Ranka went to Jantar Mantar carrying the national flag. They were detained the next day, and the special executive magistrate (SEM) remanded them to five days of judicial custody, citing the risk of a breach of peace.
On October 19, the magistrate turned down their sureties, expressing doubts about whether the sureties could ensure the petitioners’ compliance and pointing to inconsistencies in identity documents. As a result, their judicial custody was extended by two more days.
Scrutiny of CEC Gyanesh Kumar has grown since an Indian Express report claimed that fellow Election Commissioners objected to the CEC’s decisions on 14 occasions over a ten-month period. The Election Commission has maintained that all its decisions were unanimous.
