A court on Monday extended the judicial custody of CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka by two days over breaching Jantar Mantar, a de-notified protest site.
As Das left the court after the hearing, he claimed that there was a lack of justice and questioned the grounds on which the court rejected their sureties over allegations that they breached security and entered the site during the protest.
“We’re in an emergency. There is no justice. This is a police court and you see what is happening. Just look at the ground that they have taken,” Das yelled out of a police van. He gave his remarks in an interaction with Smita Sharma Journalist, a YouTube channel.
What did court say?
Das and Ranka’s judicial custody was extended by a special executive magistrate (SEM) at the Mandir Marg police station. The order, as seen by HT, says that the CJP leaders “deliberately breached” their October 11 bonds and that the duo’s conduct “is not above board; rather it shows no respect for law and their habitualness in calling protest at de-notified areas”.
“Considering the imminent apprehension, past conduct of the respondent and the submissions advanced on both sides, I deem it fit that an opportunity be given to the respondents to file and place on record their submissions in writing within 2 days, with advance copy to the Investigating Officer,” the order said.
Citing the police, the court said the arrested CJP leaders used social media to make repeated calls for protests at ‘non-designated sites such as Jantar Mantar and Connaught Place’.
“The application filed by IO is supported by substantial material on record, raising serious concerns regarding the likelihood of breach of peace and disturbance of public tranquility, which cannot be brushed aside without proper consideration,” it said.
3 CJP leaders detained, one released
Ranka, Das and their associate Ajinkya Shinde were detained on October 13 after trespassing into Jantar Mantar, that has been denotified as a protest site. A video shared by the CJP that day showed them jumping the locked gates.
While Shinde was released on a personal bond and a surety of ₹5,000, Das and Ranka were subsequently sent to five days of judicial custody. The court order had said that the CJP leaders had signed a surety bond to maintain peace, and that their Jantar Mantar trespassing breached that undertaking.
Dipke released on conditional bail bond
Days after Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka’s arrests, Abhijeet Dipke was also briefly placed under arrest after he was picked up by cops on his way to Connaught Place on October 16. The CJP had called for a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at CP’s Central Park that day.
Dipke was released by a special executive magistrate a day later on a conditional bail bond. One of the primary conditions of the bail was to ensure there is no breach of peace on his end for a period of one year.
