- The SEM and the public prosecutor, CJP leaders alleged, arrived at the court five hours late on Sunday.
- A hearing on Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka's release is unlikely to take place today.
- The CJP leaders alleged that the magistrate discussed threats to him and did not deliberate on the duo's release.
Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka's five-day judicial custody ended on Sunday (October 18). However, the duo has not been released from Tihar jail till now, with the CJP members accusing the authorities of deliberately delaying the court proceedings "by using dirty tricks".
Ranka and Das were arrested by the police on October 13 after they sneaked into Jantar Mantar and staged a protest with the Indian flag, a day after it was denotified as a designated protest site. The duo was sent to judicial custody the following day and has been in jail ever since.
A hearing was held by the Special Executive Magistrate, ACP Mahesh Kumar Meena, on Sunday, but no order was passed regarding their release. The CJP said it would pursue legal remedies before higher judicial forums to challenge what it described as deliberate obstruction and the prolonged detention of its leaders.
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What Happened During The Hearing?
According to a report by news agency PTI, the hearing, scheduled to begin at noon, started at around 5:30 pm after the public prosecutor and the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) arrived at the court late. During the hearing, which reportedly lasted nearly 10-15 minutes, the court discussed the alleged threats received by the SEM over the CJP leaders' release.
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Later, the public prosecutor supported SEM's claims and said that the matter needed a proper investigation. The SEM then left without passing any order on the release of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The Delhi Police later confirmed that a non-cognisable report (NCR) has been registered against unidentified persons over the complaint by the SEM
CJP Alleges Deliberate Delay In Release
The Cockroach Janta Party members have accused authorities of deliberately prolonging the "illegal arrest" of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka and alleged that bail sureties had been rejected on "vague" grounds.
"The state is deliberately prolonging Ashu and Saurav's illegal arrest by using every dirty trick in the book to delay court proceedings and prevent their release. They have no legal grounds to keep them behind bars, so they are resorting to delaying tactics to keep them there," CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said.
CJP legal head Ratna Singh said that the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) arrived for the hearing five hours late and alleged that the proceedings were diverted to a purported threatening message received by the magistrate instead of addressing the release of the two leaders.
"The public prosecutor didn't come for four days. He came on the fifth day. (He) didn't want to talk about the case. He didn't want to release anyone. The SEM mentioned that someone has sent him a threatening message. Our lawyers said that if someone has threatened you, you should take action against them. Put their number in the order. Tell us their name," she said, as quoted by PTI.
She questioned why an alleged threatening message should affect the proceedings concerning Das and Ranka. "Our lawyers countered them. They said that you should take action against the person who has sent you the threatening message. Why are you not listening to this case?" Singh added.
Ratna Singh also alleged that the verification of sureties furnished for the two leaders had been delayed and four sureties rejected on "vague" grounds. She questioned the need for further approval of a fixed deposit receipt bearing a bank stamp.
The CJP said it would pursue legal remedies before higher judicial forums to challenge what it described as deliberate obstruction and the prolonged detention of its leaders.