Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent back to judicial custody from Mandir Marg Police Station in Delhi on Monday after their surety was rejected over an alleged mismatch in photographs.
Ratna Singh, Head of Legal Affairs at CJP, criticised the proceedings, alleging that the authorities were curtailing the activists’ liberty on vague grounds despite repeated attempts to complete the surety verification process.
“A mockery was going on in the Court. For the last six days, we have been saying that one or the other reason is being nitpicked - surety verification has not been done, that an FIR has been lodged against the surety. We saw someone’s liberty being curtailed,” Singh said, reported ANI.
She said the hearing, scheduled for 2 pm, began around 3-3.30 pm and lasted an hour. Singh added that the party would challenge the decision, alleging that it was an attempt to stifle dissent.
“The 2 pm hearing began at 3-3.30 pm. It went for an hour. Our lawyers discussed on the law points. There was nothing presented from the other side which said that there should be an extension (of judicial custody). There was no reason to keep them in further judicial custody. They have been sent to judicial custody for a very vague reason...We will challenge this. This is mental torture and an attempt to stifle voices...We can see everything; the entire world can see everything. They cannot silence everyone,” she added.
Advocate Abhik Chimni, representing Das and Ranka, said he was disappointed with the decision, arguing that the matter concerned preventive custody and that the court had itself sought sureties. He said the surety was subsequently rejected over an alleged mismatch in photographs.
“We are very disappointed. This is a matter of preventive custody, and it is also a matter of fact that the Court itself said that they don't deem it necessary for the person to be sent to judicial custody. That is why they asked for the surety; once the sureties were given, they originally had a problem with it. Then there was an issue with the next surety too,” Chimni said, the ANI report added.
Chimni said the defence submitted another surety along with the required details on Monday. However, he said, the order cited a mismatch in photographs and an apprehension as reasons for rejecting it.
“Law says - release them first and then see the verification, surety and so on. Today, they produced another surety and all details required. One of the reasons they gave in the order is that one of the photos is not matching. Then they said that there is an apprehension,” he said.
“It is very disturbing; we will see what to do,” he added.
Advocate Pushp Sharma, who also represented Das and Ranka, said the defence raised legal questions during the proceedings but did not receive satisfactory answers from the other side.
Sharma said the defence had sought details of a specific call allegedly made by the two activists and the legal provision under which the action was being taken. According to Sharma, the authorities did not provide the requested details and instead said the information was in the public domain.
“They said that they (Ranka and Das) made a call and made a statement; we told them to show us the specific call. To this, they had no reply. They only said that everything is in the public domain. We told them to show us the provision under which this is being done. They again had no reply,” he said.
Sharma further alleged that the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) took three hours to pronounce the order, despite initially indicating that it would take half an hour. He claimed that officials spent two hours speaking to someone over the phone, during which the order was written, photographed and sent elsewhere. He also alleged that the sureties were asked unusual questions before being told that their photographs did not match.
“We were told that SEM would take half an hour to pronounce the order but they took 3 hours and took 2 of those hours to talk to someone over the phone. During this time, they wrote the order, clicked its photo and sent it somewhere. Then the sureties were called in and asked strange questions. This is absurd. SEM is a man of the Police. Sureties were being threatened. Lastly, we were told that photos of the sureties were not matching. This order will be challenged and taken to higher judiciary,” Sharma added.
The developments follow the arrest of Das, Ranka and other CJP activists by Delhi Police on October 12 for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar, which has been de-notified as a designated protest venue. Following their arrest, Das and Ranka were remanded to five days of judicial custody, ANI reported.
(With inputs from ANI)
