CJP Challenges Leaders' Custody as Delhi Police Expands Crime Branch Probe

The Cockroach Janata Party's planned "Lehra Do Tiranga" protests challenged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and voter lists. Mint reported that detentions took place ahead of the proposed march.

Jantar Mantar became a central point of confrontation. According to The Hindu, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka entered the site by scaling its locked gates after it had been denotified as a designated protest site. Their detention and subsequent custody became a separate legal battle from founder Abhijeet Dipke's arrest.

On October 16, uncertainty surrounded the whereabouts of Dipke following the detentions. Mint reported that Neha Bora had been located at RK Puram police station, while India Today reported AISA's allegation that lawyers were denied access to her.

On October 17, Dipke obtained conditional bail after appearing before a special executive magistrate at Mandir Marg police station, according to Mint. The Hindu reported that he was released after signing a peace bond promising not to engage in activities that would breach peace or create a law and order situation. AISA president Neha Bora was also released from detention.

Das and Ranka remained in custody. On October 18, The Hindu reported the CJP's allegation that their release was being delayed and that four sureties had been rejected. By October 19, Deutsche Welle reported that the judge had recused himself after claiming he had been threatened.

At an October 19 hearing, their judicial custody was extended by two days, The Hindu reported. According to an order accessed by NDTV India, the special executive magistrate found that they had deliberately breached bonds submitted on October 11. Legal News India reported that SEM Ritu Raj said their assurances against repeating the alleged conduct did not inspire confidence.

The legal team moved to the Delhi High Court on October 20. CJP legal head Ratna Singh said it had requested an urgent night hearing to challenge the custody, according to The Hindu. Separately, NDTV Top Stories reported that police had transferred a second case against the leaders to the Crime Branch, following the transfer of the alleged Jantar Mantar entry case on October 19.

The latest coverage records the High Court challenge but provides no ruling on it. Dipke has been released, while the dispute over Das and Ranka's continued custody remains unresolved in the supplied reports. The Hindu reported on October 21 that the Crime Branch would now investigate two cases against them.

The accounts differ on when Das and Ranka were first detained. Scroll.in dates their detention at Jantar Mantar to October 13; The Hindu says they were sent to five days of judicial custody on October 14. These describe different stages of the process, but the coverage does not provide a complete account of the intervening proceedings.

The immediate issue is whether the Delhi High Court takes up the requested urgent hearing and grants relief from custody. The application reported by The Hindu challenges the judicial custody of both leaders, rather than Dipke's already resolved detention.

The other pending development is the Crime Branch investigation. The Hindu confirms that two cases are now with that unit, but the supplied coverage gives no outcome for either investigation.