CJP Leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka Remanded To Judicial Custody
<p>Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka of CJP sent to five-day judicial custody after Jantar Mantar trespass.</p>
advertisement
Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to five days of judicial custody on 14 October 2026 after being arrested for allegedly trespassing into the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi. The arrests followed the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue and were made under charges including trespass, violation of a peace bond, and obstruction of a public official’s duty. Ajinkya Shinde, another party leader, was released on a personal bond.
According to Scroll, the three leaders and several campaign members were detained after entering Jantar Mantar to protest the authorities’ decision to denotify the area. The campaign’s legal affairs head stated that the leaders were not allowed to meet their lawyers until late at night and were transported to the Parliament Street police station in the early hours.
As reported by Live Law, the Special Executive Magistrate Court remanded Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to judicial custody for five days following their preventive arrest. The FIR included allegations of unlawful assembly and disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant, with the group reportedly scaling locked gates and police barricades while holding the Indian flag and raising slogans.
As highlighted by Bar and Bench, the CJP activists’ actions came a day after Jantar Mantar was officially denotified as a protest site. The party has been protesting alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“They were not allowed to meet their lawyers till late at night. They were brought to Parliament Street police station at 3 am in a private van. Despite these illegal actions, their spirits are high,” said Ratna Singh, CJP’s legal affairs head.
As noted in an article by Deccan Herald, Das and Ranka were produced before the Executive Magistrate after being placed under preventive arrest for entering Jantar Mantar without authorisation. Shinde was allowed to leave after signing a peace bond, while the other two were remanded to judicial custody.
Further details indicate that the arrests occurred just days after Das and Ranka had signed a bond promising to maintain peace for a year, following a previous detention related to protests against the Chief Election Commissioner.
The sequence of events leading to the judicial custody began with the leaders’ preventive arrest after they breached barricades at Jantar Mantar and raised slogans. The charges included trespassing, violation of prohibitory orders, breach of a peace bond, and obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties.
“A possibility of Judicial Custody (JC) in Tihar Jail is possible. They were not allowed to meet their lawyers till late at night. Despite these illegal actions, their spirits are high,” stated the CJP’s legal team head, as referenced in multiple sources.
As coverage revealed, preventive arrest allowed police to detain the leaders without a warrant to prevent a cognisable offence or breach of peace. The CJP leaders were detained on Tuesday morning and produced before the Special Executive Magistrate Court at Mandir Marg the following day.
The events unfolded amid heightened security in Delhi, with the police designating alternative protest venues after Jantar Mantar’s denotification. The CJP and other organisations have criticised the move, arguing that shifting demonstrations away from central Delhi reduces the visibility of public dissent as details emerged.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.