CJP leaders’ bail hearing delayed in New Delhi, activist says
Delhi Police File FIR Following Threats to Magistrate in CJP Bail Row
The bail hearing for detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka was delayed on Sunday, October 18, 2026, as the Special Executive Magistrate did not arrive at the scheduled time, activist Ratna Singh said, Hindustan Times reported. The legal dispute centers on two high-profile youth leaders currently held in separate blocks of Tihar prison after scaling locked gates at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site on October 14.
The political confrontation began when the CJP movement organized demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The police deployed heavy security across the capital, barricading Jantar Mantar after denotifying it as a designated protest venue, a status it held for over thirty years. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and other activists subsequently defied the restrictions by entering the grounds to wave the national flag and chant slogans, prompting mass detentions and five-day judicial custody orders for Das and Ranka.
Administrative Friction and Surety Rejections at Mandir Marg
The bail hearings faced severe administrative friction on Sunday at the Mandir Marg police station. Activist Ratna Singh stated that proceedings stalled because the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) and Assistant Commissioner of Police failed to arrive at the scheduled noon time, remaining absent until late afternoon. Singh further alleged that authorities rejected four proposed sureties on vague grounds, treating ordinary citizens with prior protest FIRs as individuals possessing criminal antecedents.
The state is deliberately prolonging Ashu and Saurav’s illegal arrest by using every dirty trick in the book to delay court proceedings and prevent their release.They have no legal grounds to keep them behind bars, so they are resorting to delaying tactics to keep them there. https://t.co/4g4X1KfckQ
CJP Warns Authorities of Legal Action over Detained Leaders
Legal tensions escalated ahead of Sunday’s scheduled release window. The CJP announced on Saturday that it had consulted senior advocate Kapil Sibal, warning authorities of potential legal action if the detained leaders were not freed by Sunday. CJP representatives argued that unfurling the national flag does not constitute an offense and criticized the handling of SEM courts in the capital.
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It’s 4:42PM – ACP/SEM is still not here.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. https://t.co/muhYYarT1i
At Mandir Marg police station since 11 AM, waiting for the SEM to preside.The hearing was scheduled for 12PM.Unfurling the Indian National Flag is not a crime, and the boys should not remain in custody due to procedural delays.
Fifth Day in Jail pic.twitter.com/hPRGbzUUTg