New Delhi: The judicial custody of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das was extended by two days on Monday following their arrest over alleged trespassing at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, which was recently denotified as a designated protest site.
The two leaders were initially remanded to five days of judicial custody on Oct. 14 after being detained on Oct. 13 for allegedly scaling the locked gates of Jantar Mantar. They were produced before a Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg police station on Monday before being taken back to Tihar Jail. They are scheduled to be produced again on Wednesday.
The extension drew sharp criticism from the party, with its legal head, Ratna Singh, accusing authorities of mishandling the proceedings and using the legal process to keep the leaders behind bars.
“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,” Singh said, alleging that no substantive grounds had been presented to justify continued detention.
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. https://t.co/wgrmxmBGnh
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 19, 2026
She said the arguments put forward by the leaders’ lawyers focused on the law, while the other side had failed to establish any apprehension of future protests or a breach of peace.
Singh also alleged that the proceedings were delayed for hours and that the authorities had rejected the sureties submitted on behalf of the two leaders. She argued that pending verification of sureties could not, by itself, justify continued judicial custody.
“The entire atmosphere here is deeply concerning. I think SDM courts should be abolished because they are compromised,” she said, alleging that the system was being used to suppress dissent.
Despite the setback, Singh maintained that the party would continue its fight, saying young people across the country were watching how the law was being applied to curb voices of opposition.
The CJP has alleged that authorities deliberately delayed the proceedings to prevent Ranka and Das from securing release. The party maintains that the two entered Jantar Mantar to unfurl the national flag and raise slogans, while continuing to challenge the decision to withdraw the site’s designated protest status.
In a social media post, CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke defended the arrested leaders, saying they had remained defiant despite spending five days in jail.
“Ashu and Saurav’s first crime was waving the Tiranga at Jantar Mantar. Their second crime? Refusing to back down,” Dipke wrote, adding that the two appeared in court with their spirits unbroken.
The arrests come amid the CJP’s campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The party has argued that the revision exercise threatens voters’ rights and has made it a central issue in its protests against the Election Commission.
The CJP has also opposed the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, contending that the change should not prevent its members from demonstrating.
On Saturday, the party said it had consulted senior advocate Kapil Sibal and warned of legal action if the two leaders were not released by Sunday.
In a post on X, the party threatened to pursue action against those it accused of deliberately prolonging the detention, arguing that the leaders had neither committed nor been charged with any offense.
“The deliberate use of delaying tactics to keep them behind bars cannot go unchallenged. Those responsible will be held accountable,” the party said.
