Cockroach Janata Party Leaders Released from Custody After Protests Against Chief Election Commissioner

A Special Executive Magistrate in Delhi on Wednesday, October 21, ordered the release of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka from judicial custody, where they had been held following protests at Jantar Mantar. The two had been in custody since October 14 after allegedly entering the protest site and unfurling the national flag in violation of prohibitory orders during demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Das and Ranka were initially remanded to five days of judicial custody by Executive Magistrate Mahesh Kumar Meena on October 14. On October 19, their custody was extended by two days , until October 21. Earlier on Wednesday, the two leaders withdrew their plea before the Delhi High Court challenging the extension of their judicial custody. The court had expressed reluctance to entertain the petition because an alternative legal remedy was available. Das and Ranka were first apprehended at an airport on October 10 and faced preventive proceedings under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) ahead of protests planned in Delhi against the Chief Election Commissioner. They were released on October 11 after furnishing peace bonds of Rs 50,000 each. However, they were apprehended again on October 14 over allegations that they had breached the bonds by attempting to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar on October 13. In an order dated October 19 extending their judicial custody, Special Executive Magistrate Ritu Raj observed that the two had deliberately breached their bonds and immediately committed a breach of peace.