On Oct 13, 2026, Delhi Police arrested Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das after they scaled the locked gates of Jantar Mantar, a site the Delhi government recently removed from its protected protest list.
Both leaders were taken to Tihar Jail and handed a five‑day judicial custody the following day, a move the CJP calls a deliberate delay designed to keep them behind bars.
CJP’s legal head, Ratna Singh, blasted the proceedings as a circus, saying the court offered no evidence of wrongdoing and that the Special Executive Magistrate’s hearing was postponed for hours.
The party warned that if Ranka and Das are not released by Sunday, it will sue the police and the state for unlawful detention, and the leaders have already walked into court with smiles, refusing to back down.
The case sits against a backdrop of the CJP’s campaign against the Election Commission’s SIR, which they say threatens voter rights, and the denotification of Jantar Mantar, which they argue should not preclude flag‑raising protests.
The court will hear the case on Wednesday, 19 October, after which the leaders’ fate will be decided.