New Delhi: Two co-conveners of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) withdrew from the Delhi High Court on Wednesday their plea challenging an order that extended their judicial custody, after the court asked them to first exhaust the remedy before the magistrate who passed it.
Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka told Justice Subramonium Prasad that they would not press the petition. The judge told their counsel to await the outcome of a hearing scheduled before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) later in the day, and to move the appellate court if the grievance survived. The court said it had made no observation on the merits. Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma appeared for the state.
The CJP grew out of a satirical 'cockroach' campaign online and has been at the centre of a weeks-long confrontation over changes to the electoral roll and the handling of protests in the capital. Several of its leaders are in custody. The group had called for a march in Delhi.
Wednesday's hearing was confined to procedure, not to whether the custody itself was lawful. Counsel for the two leaders were given time to take instructions on whether to withdraw the plea, let the court rule on the merits, or have the matter heard by the roster bench. Two cases against the CJP leaders have been transferred to the Crime Branch.
The court noted that permission for demonstrations is meant to regulate protesters and also to prevent others from joining and disrupting them. It also asked why the two leaders had not first pursued alternative legal remedies. Two cases against the leaders have been transferred to the Crime Branch.
The SEM was to take up the matter later in the day. Legal action against the detention can continue in separate proceedings, their counsel said.