- The SEM extended the judicial custody of Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das by two days.
- The CJP members have accused authorities of deliberately prolonging the "illegal arrest" of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
- Ranka and Das were arrested by the police on October 13 after they sneaked into Jantar Mantar.
Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das Bail News: The Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) on Monday extended Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das' judicial custody by two days, after the Delhi Police sought a five-day extension. The next hearing on their bail plea will be taken up on October 21.
During the hearing, the Delhi Police sought a five-day extension to their judicial custody, citing their plans to hold a protest again and CJP's announcement to strategise for another agitation.
The SEM began the hearing at around 4 pm today on the plea against their arrest after the duo entered Jantar Mantar and waved the Indian flag, after it was denotified as a designated protest site.
Reacting to the extension of the judicial custody, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke compared the magistrate's order with a verdict of the Allahabad High Court, which suspended the conviction of a murder convict, who wishes to contest polls on a BJP ticket.
. https://t.co/DGMCWcl32O
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 19, 2026
Earlier, after the magistrate reserved its order, CJP legal head and lawyer Ratna Singh alleged unnecessary delay in pronouncing the verdict on Ranka and Das' release, calling it an absurd situation. "I haven't seen anything this absurd in my entire life," she wrote on X.
I haven’t seen anything this absurd in my entire life.
— Ratna Singh (@whattalawyer) October 19, 2026
Ratna Singh said that the CJP legal team is waiting at the Mandir Marg police station, alleging that the public prosecutor is playing "dirty tricks" to delay the release of Ranka and Das.
"We are still at SEM court, waiting for court to dictate order. There is no reason to extend judicial custody. Today also no argument presented by PP on law. All his arguments were mere assumptions. Absolute waste of time of SEM court. Saurav and Ashutosh must be released," she wrote on X.
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We are still at SEM court, waiting for court to dictate order. There is no reason to extend judicial custody. Today also no argument presented by PP on law. All his arguments were mere assumptions. Absolute waste of time of SEM court. Saurav and Ashutosh must be released.
— Ratna Singh (@whattalawyer) October 19, 2026
CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das have been lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail since October 14, when the court ordered a five-day judicial custody. CJP on Sunday accused the authorities of deliberately delaying the release of Ranka and Das.
During Sunday's hearing, the judge did not pass any order, but discussed the alleged threats received by the SEM over the CJP leaders' release. The Delhi Police has also registered a non-cognisable report (NCR) regarding the threats.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that bail sureties for the release of its leaders had been rejected on "vague" grounds. "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," he wrote on X.
Ranka and Das were initially sent to five-day judicial custody on October 13 after they defied restrictions to protest at Jantar Mantar. The two were taken into custody after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, displayed the national flag at the site and shouted slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained and placed under preventive arrest.