Published Oct 19, 2026 | 7:37 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 19, 2026 | 10:02 PM
Ajinkya Shinde, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das in detention.
Synopsis: A Special Executive Magistrate court in Delhi on Monday extended the judicial custody of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka by two days, after their initial five-day remand ended. The Delhi Police had sought an extension, but the court’s order has not been made public and the basis for the decision remains unclear. CJP’s head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh termed the order “absurd”.
A Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) court on Monday, 19 October, extended the judicial custody of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka by two days, after their initial five-day remand ended.
The Delhi Police had earlier sought an extension of their custody. The court’s order has not yet been made public, and the basis for the extension remains unclear.
Das and Ranka were remanded to five days’ judicial custody on 14 October, after they were detained while attempting to “reclaim” Jantar Mantar. Their detention came a day after the Delhi Police de-notified the central Delhi venue as a designated site for protests and demonstrations.
The two were due to be produced before a new Special Executive Magistrate at 2 pm on Monday, but proceedings did not begin until around 5.30 pm, according to CJP’s head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh.
Singh termed the order “absurd”. “I haven’t seen anything this absurd in my entire life,” she wrote in a post on X after the order was pronounced.
“I think the SCM courts should be abolished because they have been compromised. There is no apprehension here, no threat. There has been no call from our end, and yet they were sent to two days of judicial custody. They do not care about their liberty. They do not care about their past record. They just want to give an excuse, and we have seen the kind of excuse they have given today,” she said addressing the press.
“All the youth of this country are watching. They are seeing how those in power are misusing the law to curb voices, curb these youngsters and prevent people from coming together and raising their voices. I think they do not understand that all of this is making them stronger.”
I haven’t seen anything this absurd in my entire life.
— Ratna Singh (@whattalawyer) October 19, 2026
Singh had earlier rejected reports that the two leaders had refused to sign a peace bond and that their lawyers intended to challenge the Delhi Police’s notice before the Delhi High Court. She clarified that the peace bond was not the issue before the court.
She said there was no reason to extend their judicial custody and that the public prosecutor had presented no arguments on the law. “All his arguments were mere assumptions. Absolute waste of time of SEM court. Saurav and Ashutosh must be released,” she said in a post on X.
Please note
— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 19, 2026
Singh said the party would challenge the order and alleged that the magistrate had remained on the phone inside the courtroom for three hours while writing the order.
“There was no protest call given by the CJP after the JC of Ashutosh & Saurav; for the state to claim that there was threat to peace by their release,” she said.
Defence counsel said fresh sureties, along with the required documents and identity verifications, had been produced after the initial five-day custody period ended. However, when the case was called, the State filed a fresh application seeking a further extension of judicial custody, citing an imminent threat to public order. The defence said the State had provided no factual basis or statement on record to support the claim.
“This is purely preventive custody where no interrogation or investigation is required, yet they have been kept locked up for six days straight simply out of fear that they might exercise their right to protest,” defence counsel said.
The lawyers alleged that the court rejected the fresh sureties on the grounds that their photographs did not match or that they lacked control over the detainees, after questioning each surety for 15 minutes.
The SEM’s order did not explain the alleged apprehension and merely stated that the leaders should remain in custody because the State claimed to apprehend a threat, defence counsel said.
The CJP on Sunday accused the Delhi Police and Central authorities of “deliberate delay tactics” and “procedural sabotage” in the proceedings against Das and Ranka before the SEM.
Singh had alleged that the hearing, scheduled for noon on the fifth day of their remand, was repeatedly postponed without the defence being told when it would resume. Lawyers had been waiting since noon when the SEM and the public prosecutor arrived at around 5.30 pm, she said.
According to Singh, instead of addressing the merits of the case or the release of the two leaders, the public prosecutor alleged that a threatening message had been sent to the magistrate.
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 to hear the merits of the case, Singh 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.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
