FOUR SURETIES REJECTED, MAGISTRATE ABSENT: CJP LEADERS’ BAIL PROCEEDINGS FACE FRESH DELAY

October 18, 2026

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 18: The bail hearing of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka was delayed on Sunday after the Special Executive Magistrate failed to arrive at the scheduled time, while activist Ratna Singh alleged that four proposed sureties had been rejected on vague grounds.

Singh said she had been waiting at Mandir Marg police station since 11 am for the hearing, which was scheduled for noon. In a social media post at 4.42 pm, she alleged that the Assistant Commissioner of Police serving as the Special Executive Magistrate had still not arrived. Police had not responded to the allegations at the time of the report.

Das and Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody on October 14 and lodged in Tihar Jail after allegedly violating their peace bonds and entering Jantar Mantar by scaling its locked gates. The site had been denotified as a designated protest venue. The CJP leaders maintained that they had unfurled the national flag and raised slogans.

Singh further alleged that people with existing FIRs linked to protest activities were being treated as having criminal antecedents, resulting in the rejection of the proposed sureties. She argued that procedural delays should not keep the two activists in custody.

The CJP had earlier said it had consulted senior advocate Kapil Sibal and threatened legal action if the leaders were not released. The party alleged that deliberate delays were prolonging their detention despite, in its view, the absence of a criminal offence.

The party has been protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, claiming that the exercise threatens voters’ rights. The latest dispute has intensified questions raised by activists over the handling of the leaders’ custody and bail proceedings.