Story perspectives

Delhi Court Faults Custody Ruling, Orders Release of CJP Leaders

By Drooid · Oct 23, 2026, 4:01 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Magistrate Orders Release

Special Executive Magistrate ordered the release of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on October 21.
They had been detained since October 14 for entering denotified Jantar Mantar and breaching peace bonds.
Delhi Police sought a three-day custody extension, but the magistrate denied it.
Two FIRs from the October 13 protest were moved to the Delhi Police Crime Branch for investigation.

Summary

Justice Muralidhar Warns

Petition alleges magistrate ignored Aldanish Rein’s demand for a sworn inquiry before rejecting sureties.
Justice S. Muralidhar warned that surety verification cannot justify extending judicial custody.
Delhi High Court ruled the Special Executive Magistrate lacked jurisdiction and advised seeking revision, not writ relief.
Police affidavit labeled the sureties “associated” with leaders, a claim the petition called unsupported.
In 2017-18, Delhi’s 14 SEM courts processed 14,529 preventive reports, imprisoning 6,944, many poor.

History

Historical Context

Indira Gandhi’s 1971 Maintenance of Internal Security Act gave the government sweeping preventive-detention powers, which she expanded during the 1975-77 Emergency. The Supreme Court’s 1976 ADM Jabalpur decision, authored by Chief Justice Y.V. Chakravarty, upheld detention of roughly 1.2 million people. In 2024 Delhi magistrates used similar authority, prompting the High Court to rebuke the practice.

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Magistrate Orders Release

Special Executive Magistrate ordered the release of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on October 21.
They had been detained since October 14 for entering denotified Jantar Mantar and breaching peace bonds.
Delhi Police sought a three-day custody extension, but the magistrate denied it.
Two FIRs from the October 13 protest were moved to the Delhi Police Crime Branch for investigation.

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