CJP's Das, Ranka seek urgent night hearing against extension of judicial custody

NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday approached the Delhi high court seeking an urgent hearing against the extension of their judicial custody. Das and Ranka sought a night hearing in the high court, which remains closed this week due to the Dussehra vacation, news agency PTI reported. A newly appointed special executive magistrate at Mandir Marg police station on Monday ordered their judicial remand to be extended by two more days after they were produced before him. The two were taken into custody on October 13 after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had earlier been denotified as a designated protest site. They were subsequently sent to five-day judicial custody, PTI reported. "We have moved the Delhi high court and requested an urgent night hearing. Saurav and Ashutosh should not spend a single minute behind bars. Their liberty must not be curtailed because of political games. Justice must not wait," CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said in a post on X. The CJP has alleged that bail proceedings in the case have been deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its two co-convenors. Das and Ranka, along with other CJP workers, had displayed the national flag at the site and shouted slogans against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before they were detained and placed under preventive arrest. (With agency inputs)