CJP Leaders Drop High Court Plea Over Custody Remand

UPDATE - follow-up to CJP's Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka withdraw Delhi High Court plea against extension of judicial custody: Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka withdrew their Delhi High Court petition challenging their judicial custody ordered by a Special Executive Magistrate. The high court permitted the withdrawal while clarifying that no observations were made on the merit of the case, and orally observed that an Article 226 petition was not an appropriate remedy here. The two leaders were initially taken into custody on October 13 after climbing a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, a denotified protest site, where they displayed the national flag and shouted slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A Special Executive Magistrate on Monday ordered their judicial remand till October 21 following an earlier five-day custody ordered on October 14. Delhi Police stated the protesters trespassed through private premises and obstructed police officers, while the CJP alleged that bail proceedings were deliberately delayed. Justice Subramonium Prasad is also taking up a separate petition by AISA President Neha Bora regarding a police notice for a bond to keep the peace.

Context

Special Executive Magistrates hold magisterial powers under criminal procedure laws to handle preventive detention and matters of maintaining public peace. Jantar Mantar has historically served as a central demonstration site in the capital before administrative changes restricted access. Legal challenges involving preventive detention often raise complex questions about personal liberty and police powers under procedural statutes.