Published Oct 18, 2026 | 9:28 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 18, 2026 | 9:28 PM
Saurav Das (extreme left) and Ashutosh Ranka (extreme right) with Abhijeet Dipke and Ratna Singh.
Synopsis: The CJP on Sunday accused the Delhi Police of delaying proceedings against its leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were remanded to five days’ judicial custody on 14 October. CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said the hearing, scheduled for noon, was delayed until 5.30 pm. She accused the authorities of failing to place verification details on record or inform lawyers about the proceedings.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday, 18 October, accused the Delhi Police and Central authorities of ‘deliberate delay tactics’ and ‘procedural sabotage’ in the proceedings before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) in the case against its leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
Das and Ranka were remanded to five days’ judicial custody on Wednesday, 14 October, after being detained while attempting to “reclaim” Jantar Mantar, a day after the Delhi Police de-notified the central Delhi venue as a designated site for protests and demonstrations.
Ratna Singh, CJP’s head of legal affairs, said the hearing, scheduled for noon, was repeatedly postponed without informing the defence when it would resume. Lawyers had been waiting since noon when the SEM and the public prosecutor arrived around 5.30 pm, she said.
Higher courts ask to follow hierarchy. Pls see how SEM courts are functioning in capital city.
Absolute misuse of power!
— Ratna Singh (@whattalawyer) October 18, 2026
Instead of addressing the merits of the case or the release of the two leaders, the public prosecutor (PP) alleged that a threatening message was sent to the magistrate, Singh said.
The defence demanded that the authorities identify the sender, record the details in an official order and take action against the person responsible. The magistrate and the prosecutor did not proceed with the hearing on the merits, she alleged.
“The PP, who has been the public prosecutor all this time, had not come for four days. He has come today, on the fifth day, and has arrived randomly, without discussing anything about the case, without discussing anything about releasing them,” Singh said.
Singh said the prosecutor told the magistrate that someone had sent him a threatening message.
“Our lawyers said that if someone has threatened you, then take action against that person. Put their number in the order, tell us their name, take action against them. What does that have to do with the release of Ashutosh and Saurabh?” Singh said.
She alleged that the authorities had neither placed verification details on record nor informed the defence about the status of the proceedings concerning either Das or Ranka.
“First of all, this hearing was supposed to take place at 12 in the morning. By repeatedly postponing it, these people have dragged it out until the evening. We have not been informed at all about what time the hearing is supposed to take place, or whether anything is supposed to happen,” she said.
Singh also alleged that the prosecutor raised his voice as the magistrate prepared to leave, suggesting that someone from the party’s side had sent the threatening message.
“He was just about to get up and leave from there, and the public prosecutor raised his voice there. By doing so, he was trying to suggest that someone among us had sent him that message,” she said.
“Even if someone had sent him that message, how is it related to the case? How is it related to the four days that we have been coming here, staying here from morning till evening?”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
