NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has declined to intervene in the judicial custody of two leaders from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, directing them to await the outcome of a hearing before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM). The court advised them to approach an appellate court if their grievances persist after the SEM’s decision.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that the hearing before the SEM was scheduled for later on Wednesday. Justice Subramonium Prasad allowed the CJP co-conveners to withdraw their plea, stating that a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was not the appropriate legal recourse for a repeated violation of a ‘peace’ bond.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma informed the court that the matter was listed before the SEM concerning the furnishing of fresh sureties. The court took up the case after the CJP leaders sought an urgent hearing during the Dussehra break of the High Court.
The controversy stems from an incident on October 13, when Das, Ranka, and other CJP workers displayed the national flag and shouted slogans at Jantar Mantar. This location had been denotified as a protest site, leading to their detention and placement under preventive arrest. Subsequently, a Special Executive Magistrate placed them under judicial custody for five days, commencing October 14.
Representing the petitioners, Advocate Abhik Chimni contended that his clients should be released on a personal bond, asserting that the SEM lacked the jurisdiction to extend their judicial custody. He further argued that the SEM’s insistence on surety was not legally tenable.
Justice Prasad, however, raised questions regarding the alleged violation of a bond undertaken by the petitioners to maintain peace. The court queried whether authorities were not entitled to seek a more stringent surety in a case involving repeated infractions. The judge highlighted the significance of the petitioners’ locus and motive, particularly noting a shift from a student protest to a cause advocating for ‘regime change’.
The court remarked, “People remain the same, causes change. All these questions assume significance so to who you are; what is your motive; what are you trying to do? You suddenly hear something like a regime change.. you suddenly hear something (against) which we normally do by a ballot. In a hearing like this, it is not necessary for us to go into this. Keep the debate for an appropriate proceeding.”
Upon learning that Das and Ranka were 27 and 31 years old respectively, the court made a lighthearted observation about their age bracket. Their lawyer responded by calling them “an inspiration.”
The court further emphasized that police permissions for protests are intended not to suppress dissent but to prevent “unwanted persons” from joining and to ensure that peaceful agitations do not escalate into violence. The judge pointed out, “The two petitioners here are at the forefront. When you go and break a barricade, the chances of 10 or 20 more people violating the 163 (prohibitory order) are very bright. There might be persons who might not be in your control and who might do things. We have seen it happening outside our country. Student protest has now gone into arson, looting, burning.”
While granting permission for the withdrawal of the case, Justice Prasad clarified that his observations did not touch upon the merits of the matter. Das and Ranka had approached the High Court challenging the SEM’s October 19 order, which remanded them to two days of judicial custody.
They were initially taken into custody on October 13 after allegedly scaling a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had been denotified as a protest site. A newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate at the Mandir Marg police station ordered their judicial remand until October 21 after their production. The CJP leaders’ petition argued that the SEM’s order was illegal and arbitrary, asserting that they had repeatedly submitted the required sureties without success, thereby frustrating the purpose of their release.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
