Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were sent to five days’ judicial custody in Tihar Jail on Wednesday morning. A Delhi court acted after the two broke the peace bonds they had signed on Saturday — by entering Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, a site Delhi Police has stripped of its protest-venue status.
Updated: October 14, 2026, 10:30 AM IST
Quick Read
- Delhi’s Special Executive Magistrate court sent Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to five days’ judicial custody on Wednesday; both are now in Tihar Jail.
- The two had signed bonds on Saturday promising to keep peace for a year. On Tuesday they entered Jantar Mantar, which Delhi Police de-notified as a protest site on October 12.
- A third CJP leader, Ajinkya Shinde, was detained too. Reports disagree on whether he was also remanded or released on bond.
What the court decided
The Special Court of the Executive Magistrate heard the case on Wednesday morning. Delhi Police told the court that Das and Ranka had disturbed public peace and violated the conditions written into their bonds, according to Times Now’s report from October 14. The police also said the two had openly called on people to join the protest.
The court agreed, ordered five days of judicial custody, and they were taken to Tihar Jail.
The trigger was Tuesday’s incident. Das, Ranka and Shinde allegedly crossed police barricades and walked into Jantar Mantar without permission. They raised slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, The Tribune reported. Jantar Mantar had been de-notified as a designated protest site just a day earlier, on October 12.
Also read: 2 FIRs Filed Over INDIA Bloc’s March to the Supreme Court
Why the broken bond is the real story
The charges are not only about entering Jantar Mantar. Police have registered a case covering trespass, violation of prohibitory orders, breach of a peace bond, and obstructing a public servant from doing his duty, The Tribune and The Week reported.
Here’s the back story. The CJP leaders were first detained on Saturday, right after they landed in Delhi by flight to protest against the Election Commission chief, LiveLaw reported. A magistrate’s court then let them go — but only after they furnished a statutory bond, a written promise that they would not break the peace for one full year.
Tuesday’s entry broke that promise. That’s what turned a preventive detention into a five-day jail stay.
What CJP says
CJP’s legal head Ratna Singh has pushed back hard. In a post on X, she alleged that the leaders were not allowed to meet their lawyers until late at night, The Week reported. She wrote that they were taken to Parliament Street Police Station at 3 am in a private van. In a separate media interaction, Singh accused the police of acting on orders from higher authorities and of trying to scare protesters into silence.
Founder Abhijeet Dipke went further. In an X post quoted by The Tribune, he wrote: “Ashu and Saurav have been sent to five days’ judicial custody. Their fault? Unfurling the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar.” He challenged the government to have the courage to declare an Emergency instead of what he called cowardly tactics. Dipke also said the party’s aim was to “reclaim Jantar Mantar,” sharing a video that appeared to show CJP members jumping over a locked gate, holding the national flag and shouting slogans like “Bharat Mata ki Jai” before police took them away, according to The Economic Times.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi’s Petition: 14 Defects Flagged, Explained Simply
What is still unclear
One detail needs care. Not all outlets agree on what happened to the third leader, Ajinkya Shinde. Times Now’s report lists him alongside Das and Ranka as remanded to five days’ custody. LiveLaw, however, says Shinde was released on a personal bond, and The Tribune says bail bond formalities for him were being finalised.
Das and Ranka are confirmed in Tihar for five days; Shinde’s exact status differs by source.
The bigger arc
This is not an isolated clash. It’s the latest chapter in a fast-moving chain: the October 10 detentions, the October 12 INDIA bloc march to the Supreme Court, and the October 13 FIRs over that march. CJP’s campaign targets Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
There is also a legal question hanging over all of this. In 2018, in the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan case, the Supreme Court upheld the right to regulated, peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar. Now the site has been de-notified entirely. Whether that order can stand against the court’s reasoning — that rights must be balanced, not extinguished — is unresolved. Delhi Police has said a fresh SOP for the three new protest venues is coming. That SOP hasn’t been published yet.
Also read: Supreme Court to Hear Delhi Protest Detention Case
The five-day custody ends on October 19. Until the new SOP lands, anyone planning a protest in Delhi is operating in a grey zone.
FAQ
Who are Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka?
They lead the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP); Das is its spokesperson. The party is campaigning for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged problems in the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls.
What is a peace bond?
It is a written promise given to a court or police that a person will keep peace and good behaviour for a fixed period. Das and Ranka signed one on Saturday, promising peace for a year. Breaking it gave the police grounds to seek custody — and the court agreed.
Can people still protest at Jantar Mantar?
Not as before. Delhi Police de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue on October 12 and named three new venues: Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground. Entering Jantar Mantar for a protest now risks the same charges CJP’s leaders face.
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