New Delhi: Before being released by the special executive magistrate (SEM) late Wednesday evening, Cockroach Janta Party co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka faced several questions in Delhi High Court earlier in the day.
The high court pointed out that the petitioners had violated a bond by entering a denotified protest site, and questioned if the police weren’t entitled to seek a “stricter” surety in a “repeat case”. The court wondered if it should enter into the merits of the SEM’s decision or let “the events run their course.”
The duo had approached the court challenging the extension of their judicial custody by the SEM and later withdrew the plea after the high court advised them to await the outcome of the hearing scheduled before the special executive magistrate and approach the appellate court if their grievance continues.
The counsel for the petitioners, advocate Abhik Chimni, sought the high court’s immediate intervention and argued that they ought to be released on a personal bond as the SEM has no jurisdiction to extend their judicial custody.
The judge remarked that the questions surrounding the locus and motive of the petitioners were also significant and have to be examined, considering that while they were initially involved in a student protest, there was even a statement on “regime change” and this time, their cause was different. He argued that the SEM’s insistence on a surety was not sustained in law.
Justice Subramonium Prasad of the high court observed that a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was not an appropriate remedy for a “repeat case” of violating a peace bond. During the brief hearing, Justice Prasad made oral observations, voicing his concerns over the conduct of the two CJP members.