Cockroach Janta Party leaders move Delhi High Court after magistrate extends their custody
Aashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das remain in custody after a special executive magistrate rejected their bail plea and extended it by two days.
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A special executive magistrate (SEM) court has rejected the bail plea of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokespersons Aashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, and extended their custody by two days. Following this, Ratna Singh, the CJP's legal head, filed a petition directly in the Delhi High Court on behalf of the two and sought an urgent hearing.
Singh has appealed for the matter to be heard tonight itself. She also said Saurav Das and Aashutosh Ranka should not have to stay in jail even for a minute.
Speaking on social media, Singh said she had filed the petition in the Delhi High Court and sought an immediate hearing at night. She said the freedom of the two leaders should not be taken away because of political manoeuvring, and that they should be released at the earliest. She also demanded a swift hearing so that the court could consider the questions related to their release.
The two CJP workers have now approached the Delhi High Court to challenge their judicial custody. Their lawyers have also sought an immediate hearing. Yesterday, a special executive magistrate extended the custody of Das and Ranka till October 21. They had earlier been sent to five days of judicial custody, and after the hearing in that case their judicial custody was extended by two more days.
Saurav Das and Aashutosh Ranka were arrested as a precaution on October 13 on the charge of entering the Jantar Mantar area without permission. They were then sent to five days of judicial custody. Delhi Police say Jantar Mantar had been removed from the list of designated protest sites. Despite this, on the morning of October 13, Saurav Das, Aashutosh Ranka, Ajinkya Shinde and 11 other CJP members reached Jantar Mantar from a private venue. Ajinkya Shinde was released on bail on the condition of keeping the peace and good behaviour. Saurav Das and Aashutosh Ranka remain in custody.
On Sunday morning, the special executive magistrate hearing the bail plea of Aashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das claimed to be receiving threats from unknown persons. Police then registered a non-bailable offence in the matter. Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has alleged that the government is deliberately prolonging the unlawful arrest of Aashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.
