Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have challenged their continued detention in the Delhi High Court, questioning a magistrate’s decision to extend their custody despite the submission of sureties.
The petitioners have sought judicial intervention against the October 19 order of a Special Executive Magistrate in New Delhi district, passed in proceedings under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Their counsel has argued that the leaders’ continued confinement raises concerns over the protection of personal liberty, particularly as previous attempts to secure their release through sureties have not succeeded.
According to the legal team, the magistrate declined to accept fresh sureties on October 19 and sought an explanation from the leaders regarding the possibility of a breach of peace. The High Court is scheduled to hear the challenge on October 21.
The petition also disputes the grounds on which earlier sureties were rejected. The lawyers have cited verification reports which, they claim, established the authenticity of fixed deposits furnished by two sureties and confirmed their availability at their stated addresses.
The legal challenge further questions whether the prescribed procedure was followed while rejecting the sureties and extending custody. The petitioners maintain that unresolved issues concerning the acceptance of security should not, by themselves, justify their continued detention.
The dispute also brings the status of Jantar Mantar as a protest venue into focus. The leaders’ counsel has argued that holding a demonstration at a site that has been denotified is a matter of regulation and should not automatically be treated as evidence of a threat to public peace.
The decision to withdraw Jantar Mantar’s designation as a protest site has also been challenged before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, the leaders have pointed out.
The matter is listed for hearing on October 21.
