# CJP leaders released on bail after week in custody

> Cockroach Janta Party activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka walk free after a court accepts their sureties, but only after they promise not to protest at Jantar Mantar.
- Title: CJP leaders released on bail after week in custody · The Hindu
- Summary: Cockroach Janta Party activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka walk free after a court accepts their sureties, but only after they promise not to protest at…
- Keywords: cockroach janta party, saurav das, ashutosh ranka, jantar mantar, delhi police, judicial custody, protest site, special executive magistrate, news, politics, CJP, leaders
- Source: The Hindu — https://thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/cjp-leaders-saurav-das-ashutosh-ranka-sem-judicial-custody-hearing/article71607599.ece
- Author: Ishita Mishra
- Published: 2026-10-21T13:01:14+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: cockroach janta party, saurav das, ashutosh ranka, jantar mantar, delhi police, judicial custody, protest site, special executive magistrate, news, politics
## Two CJP leaders freed after seven days
Saurav Das, chief spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party, and Ashutosh Ranka, CJP co-convenor, were released on October twenty-first, twenty twenty-six after a Special Executive Magistrate court in Delhi accepted their sureties and granted them…
## Why they were detained
Delhi Police detained Das and Ranka on October thirteenth for entering the barricaded protest area at Jantar Mantar by climbing over its gates. Jantar Mantar is a denotified protest site.
## Initial custody and extension
They were remanded to five days of judicial custody on October fourteenth, which was extended by two days on October nineteenth. Police sought a further three-day extension on October twenty-first.
## Police argument for detention
Delhi Police cited law and order concerns and pointed to conduct by other CJP members. Police said a member gave a media statement undermining the Majesty of the SEM Courts while en-route to Tihar Jail.
## Court rejects initial sureties
When extending their judicial custody on Monday, the SEM court expressed concerns that their actions could disturb public peace and questioned their regard for the law. It rejected their initial sureties as unsuitable.
## High Court hearing and withdrawal
Das and Ranka approached the Delhi High Court on October twentieth seeking an urgent hearing, which was denied. On October twenty-first, Justice Subramonium Prasad questioned them over breaking barricades to enter Jantar Mantar.
## Judge warns of escalation risk
The judge remarked that when activists break a barricade at a denotified site, the chances of ten or twenty more people violating Section one sixty-three BNSS is very bright, potentially damaging their cause's reputation.

> The chances of 10 or 20 more people in violation of Section 163 BNSS, is very bright.
## Conditions for release
Das and Ranka were released after submitting an undertaking that they would not call for any protest at Jantar Mantar as long as it remains a denotified protest site.
## Apology and assurances given
Counsel for Das and Ranka made a verbal unconditional apology to the court over the conduct of other CJP members and assured that such conduct would not be repeated in future.
## Cases transferred to Crime Branch
Delhi Police transferred two cases against Das and Ranka to the Crime Branch on October twentieth, citing their sensitive nature and the need for an impartial investigation into the Jantar Mantar incident.
## Charges and next hearing
The FIRs registered on October thirteenth include charges of trespass, criminal conspiracy, assault and obstruction of public servants. The next hearing in the matter is on October twenty-third.
## Key takeaway

Two Cockroach Janta Party leaders held for entering a denotified protest site were released on bail after seven days in custody, having agreed not to call for protests at Jantar Mantar.