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A Delhi Special Executive Magistrate directed the release of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka from Tihar Jail on October 21 after turning down a police application for three more days in custody. The pair had remained in judicial custody since October 14 when they were remanded for allegedly violating peace bonds and entering the restricted Jantar Mantar area during a flag-raising march. They submitted personal bonds along with sureties of 50,000 rupees each and gave undertakings to keep the peace and refrain from organising events at Jantar Mantar until its designation is restored, according to India Today. The court scheduled a follow-up appearance for October 23 to verify the sureties.
The arrests stemmed from the group’s campaign calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Media organisations have reported that the process struck more than 130 million names from voter lists, a step the Cockroach Janta Party maintains was intended to help the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission has rejected the accusation and stated the revision targeted duplicate and ineligible entries in preparation for forthcoming state polls.
Das and Ranka joined other demonstrators who scaled barricades at Jantar Mantar on October 14 to hoist the national flag and chant slogans, Delhi Police told courts. Their initial five-day judicial remand was lengthened by two days on October 19 before the magistrate ruled against any further extension on October 21. Upon leaving the jail the two leaders were filmed raising the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad,” footage that The Quint shared on X.
The Cockroach Janta Party began in May after a senior judge likened certain unemployed young people to cockroaches, an epithet the activists adopted to represent resilience. Founder Abhijeet Dipke, who was freed from an earlier short detention on October 11, said the pair had known jail time was possible yet chose to act. Japan Times coverage described how the movement has persisted with rallies despite widespread detentions, metro closures and temporary internet blackouts ordered by authorities.
Ratna Singh, the party’s legal affairs head, earlier used social media to confirm the releases and to explain that the associated peace condition does not bar lawful constitutional protests. Police had contended that statements the leaders made in court conflicted with their public remarks urging continued demonstrations. The magistrate’s order recorded that the activists must appear with their sureties on October 23 for final verification by the investigating officer.
The case forms part of broader tensions between the youth-led group and security agencies in the run-up to state elections. The Commission has maintained that its roll revision followed established legal procedures across the country. Supreme Court proceedings in related petitions have instructed authorities against illegal detentions and have called for restoration of normal public services that were suspended during the protest period.
