CJP leaders seek urgent night hearing in Delhi HC against custody extension

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka approached the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, seeking an urgent hearing against the extension of their judicial custody.

The two leaders sought a night hearing even as the High Court remains closed this week for the Dussehra vacation.

On Monday, a newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg police station ordered their judicial remand for another two days after they were produced before him.

Das and Ranka were taken into custody on October 13 after allegedly climbing over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had earlier been denotified as a designated protest site. They were subsequently remanded to five days of judicial custody.

CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said the party had approached the High Court seeking an urgent hearing, arguing that the leaders' liberty should not be curtailed.

"We have moved the Delhi High Court and requested an urgent night hearing. Saurav and Ashutosh should not spend a single minute behind bars. Their liberty must not be curtailed because of political games. Justice must not wait," Singh said in a post on X.

The CJP has alleged that bail proceedings in the case have been deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its two co-convenors.

Das and Ranka were detained along with other CJP workers after they displayed the national flag at Jantar Mantar and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They were subsequently placed under preventive arrest.

PTI