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The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a Special Executive Magistrate’s order extending the preventive detention of leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The party has sought an urgent hearing, including a possible night hearing, alleging violations of their fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Ranka and Das were arrested on October 14 for allegedly breaching security and entering Jantar Mantar during the protests. On Monday, the SEM extended their custody by two days, taking the total to seven days.

The order signed by SEM Ritu Raj, an ACP-rank officer with the Delhi Police, said that Ranka and Das’s conduct did not inspire “confidence”, that they have “no respect for law” and that they have habitually called for protests at a de-notified site. While being taken away, Das had termed the SEM a “police court” and said “there’s no justice”.

In its writ petition, the CJP challenged the “arbitrary executive action and procedural violations” in the continued detention of Das and Ranka, who are lodged in Tihar Jail. It has urged the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to take up the matter urgently and direct their release.

According to the CJP, Das and Ranka were first detained on October 10 upon their arrival at Delhi Airport. They were subsequently detained again on October 13 for allegedly carrying the national flag at Jantar Mantar. On October 14, the SEM remanded them to judicial custody without specifying the duration or amount of the bond, the petition claimed.

The CJP has alleged that despite its counsel submitting bank-verified sureties, along with fixed deposit receipts (FDRs), on October 16 and 19, the SEM rejected them on “trivial pretexts”. The group also claimed that two additional sureties were present with valid bonds and FDRs but were not considered.

The petition has cited the Delhi High Court’s ruling in Aldanish Rein vs State of NCT of Delhi, arguing that detainees should be released on personal bonds while verification of sureties is pending.

It has also challenged the extension of custody under Section 135(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), alleging that the SEM relied on police applications without registration of an FIR. The party has argued that the order was passed mechanically and runs contrary to established Supreme Court jurisprudence on preventive action.

In a statement, CJP legal head Ratna Singh said there was no justification for keeping the two leaders in custody for seven consecutive days. “The grounds provided by the SEM are completely bizarre, absurd, and mechanically adopted from police applications,” Singh said, alleging that the continued detention infringed upon the fundamental rights of the two leaders.

“Natural justice is something we all stand for, yet it is being completely ignored,” she said, adding that the party had approached the High Court to secure their immediate release.