NEW DELHI – A Special Executive Magistrate court in Delhi on Wednesday accepted the surety bonds of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, ordering their release after seven days in judicial custody.
The court ruled that the two leaders may be released from jail immediately, provided they are not held in connection with any other case. The decision came despite Delhi Police seeking a three day extension of their judicial custody.
Das and Ranka, who serve as CJP spokespersons, were detained on Oct. 13 after scaling locked gates at Jantar Mantar to wave national flags and protest. Authorities had recently denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated demonstration site and issued prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS . Police alleged the duo breached peace bonds previously executed after an earlier detention on Oct. 10.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court declined to grant direct relief after the activists challenged the extension of their detention. A high court bench questioned why the petitioners filed a writ petition under Article 226 instead of pursuing statutory revision remedies before an appellate forum.
During the hearing, the high court noted that breaching barricades at restricted sites carries a high risk of inciting broader public violations of prohibitory orders. High court judges also questioned whether law enforcement authorities were entitled to enforce stricter surety conditions following an alleged second breach of a peace bond.
Following the bench’s observations, advocate Abhik Chimni, representing the activists, withdrew the petition to seek relief before the magistrate.
Das and Ranka were first remanded to five days of judicial custody on Oct. 14. The magistrate extended their custody by two additional days on Oct. 19 after police rejected their initial sureties over document verification issues.
The underlying criminal trespassing investigation regarding the Jantar Mantar incident was recently transferred to the Delhi Police Crime Branch.
