Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka To Stay In Tihar? CJP Alleges Delay In Release Of Leaders, Four Sureties RejectedOct 18, 2026, 22:07 IST

The bail hearing of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka was delayed on Sunday after the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) failed to arrive at the scheduled time, activist Ratna Singh alleged. Singh, who is CJP's legal head, also claimed that four sureties submitted in support of the bail pleas had been rejected on “vague” grounds, raising questions over the proceedings.

In a post on X, Singh said she had been at the police station since 11 am, while the hearing was scheduled for noon. She said the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP/SEM) had not arrived at the Mandir Marg police station by 4.42 pm.

"This is really concerning. They have rejected 4 sureties till now on vague reasons. They have made people who have FIRs against them for being part of protest as people having criminal antecedents (sic)," Singh alleged.

Das and Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody on October 14 after they entered Jantar Mantar, which had been denotified as a designated protest site, by scaling its locked gates. The CJP leaders maintained that they had unfurled the national flag and raised slogans.

Speaking to the media later, Ratna Singh said, "We have been here since morning. We were told that the entire hearing would take place at 12.00 pm. Today, everything was complete, the verification was done, and all requirements were met. We have been waiting here since noon. The SEM (Special Executive Magistrate) was at the police station by 1:30 pm, but he did not enter the courtroom until 5.00 pm. When he finally arrived, he refused to hear our case on its merits regarding whether Saurav and Ashutosh should be released from judicial custody. Instead, he made arbitrary remarks."

She also claimed that the SEM told the court that he had received a threatening message.

"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.

On Ratna Singh's claims, the Delhi Police registered a non-cognisable report against unidentified persons for allegedly threatening the magistrate.

Further details about the alleged threats and the persons involved were not immediately available.

Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke accused the state of deliberately prolonging Ashutosh and Saurav's "illegal arrest".

"They have no legal grounds to keep them behind bars, so they are resorting to delaying tactics to keep them there," he alleged.

The outfit has been protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise threatens voters' rights.

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