CJP Leaders Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka Produced Before New Magistrate Amid Bail Delay

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka were produced before a newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg Police Station on Monday, October 19. The Delhi Police sought a further extension of their judicial custody amid allegations by the party that their release was being delayed.

According to available reports, Das and Ranka were detained on October 13 during a protest near Jantar Mantar. Police alleged that the protesters crossed a locked gate and entered an area that had been removed from the list of designated protest sites. The two leaders reportedly unfurled the national flag and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

They were subsequently sent to five days of judicial custody by a magistrate. The latest proceedings came amid continuing efforts by their lawyers to secure bail.

The case took another turn on Sunday when the magistrate who had been handling the bail proceedings reportedly complained of receiving threats from unidentified persons. Delhi Police registered a non cognisable report (NCR) in connection with the complaint, following which a new magistrate was assigned to handle the proceedings.

CJP leaders have alleged that the police and administration are deliberately complicating the process to prevent the release of the two activists. They maintain that the delays are undermining their right to peaceful protest and access to bail.

The episode has also drawn attention to restrictions on protest sites in the national capital and the use of legal measures against opposition activists and civil society groups. Supporters of civil liberties have raised concerns about the impact of such actions on democratic freedoms and peaceful public dissent.

The police’s request for further custody and the defence lawyers’ efforts to obtain bail remain part of the ongoing legal proceedings.