NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka will have to stay in jail for two more days. A city court on Monday extended their judicial custody for alleged violation of peace, saying their conduct was “not above board”. The case against them was transferred to the Crime Branch on Monday evening.
A special executive magistrate at the Mandir Marg police station said their conduct show they had “no respect for law”. The magistrate noted that both the sureties named by Das and Ranka had “no control” over them.
The magistrate said in an order, “The inquiry revealed that both the sureties have no control over the Respondents to produce them before the Court, which is primary essence of keeping surety. No other surety present at present. In such a situation, respondents are directed to furnish fresh sureties.”
The police produced them before the judge on the expiry of their five-day judicial custody and sought further time.
The magistrate said that there were serious concerns about them breaching peace and tranquility. “The conduct of the respondents is not above board. Rather, it shows no respect for law and their habitualness in calling protest at de-notified areas.
The statement of respondents before this court, during the arguments, that they will not repeat this offence in future does not inspire confidence based on conduct and material placed on record by the IO,” the order said.
CJP’s legal head Ratna Singh said that the magistrate had rejected their sureties on “vague grounds”. The CJP alleged that the bail proceedings were deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its two co-convenors. “The police did not provide any argument to show that there would be any more protest or Das and Ranka may breach peace. They kept making provocative statements in the court,” Singh said.
