New Delhi: A Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) on Wednesday ordered the release of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
The duo was taken into judicial custody on October 14 for entering and waving National flags in Jantar Mantar despite it being denotified as a designated protest site.
Ranka and Das had scaled the locked gates of Jantar Mantar on October 13 and waved the Tricolour to protest the denotification. The prosecution said this was in breach of a peace bond they had signed after being detained on October 10.
The two CJP spokespersons were initially sent to judicial custody for five days after being produced before the Special Executive Magistrate on October 14. Their custody was extended by two days on Monday.
Alleging that proceedings were deliberately being delayed to prevent the release of the two leaders, CJP approached the Delhi High Court against the order extending their custody.
The High Court, which heard the petition on Wednesday, highlighted the “breach of bond”, and also referred to countries like France where protests have turned violent.
