Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 21: A Special Executive Magistrate in Delhi on Wednesday ordered the release of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who have been in judicial custody since October 14 for entering and waving national flags in Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as a designated protest site, after seven days in the Tihar jail.
The two were produced before the SEM and their sureties were submitted during the proceedings after their two days extended judicial custody ended on Wednesday.
Ranka and Das, who are spokespersons of the CJP, had scaled the locked gates of Jantar Mantar on October 13 and waved national flags to protest the denotification. This act was seen as breaching a peace bond they had signed after being detained on October 10.
The spokespersons were produced before the Special Executive Magistrate on October 14 and initially sent to judicial custody for five days. The custody was extended by two days on Monday.
The SEM court had first reserved the order after hearing the matter before pronouncing the final verdict. However, their release from Tihar Jail is unlikely on Wednesday due to pending paperwork. Delhi Police had sought a three-day extension of judicial custody of Das and Ranka, however, the court ordered the release of the duo.
The development came hours after the Delhi High Court declined to intervene in their detention, asking the petitioners to await the SEM’s decision and approach the appellate court if their grievances remained unresolved. Justice Subramonium Prasad permitted Das and Ranka to withdraw their plea, observing that a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was not an appropriate remedy in a “repeat case” involving the alleged violation of a ‘peace’ bond.
The court asked the CJP co-conveners to first pursue the proceedings before the SEM, which was scheduled to consider the matter on Wednesday. It also indicated that they could approach the appellate court if they continued to have grievances after the magistrate’s decision. The petition was taken up urgently even though the High Court was closed for the Dussehra break.
Advocate Abhik Chimni, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the two leaders should be released on personal bonds. He contended that the SEM did not have the jurisdiction to extend their judicial custody and challenged the legal basis for requiring them to furnish sureties. Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the government’s side, told the court that the matter concerning the furnishing of fresh sureties was listed before the SEM.
Earlier, on being permitted by the court, Das and Ranka on Wednesday withdrew their petition in the Delhi High Court challenging their judicial custody by the SEM court. The court allowed the duo to withdraw their plea without making any opinion on merits.
However, Das and Ranka were grilled by the high court, which asked about their ages and underlined that the two were not Gen Zs. The court was informed that Das is 27-year-old, while Ranka is 31, and that people born after 1997 are Gen Zs. While the high court observed that people have the right to protest, it said a regime change in a democracy was brought through elections. Also, the court said the authorities had shown leniency towards Das and Ranka.
Justice Subramonium Prasad of Delhi High Court, who was hearing the matter, underlined Das and Ranka had broken the bond they signed earlier with the SEM. It advised that the duo should approach the revisional court and “then see what is available to you in law.” “You are a person who has actually broken a bond…Your remedy actually lies in revision,” it said.