Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday (20 October) approached the Delhi High Court challenging a Special Executive Magistrate's order extending their judicial custody by two more days, and sought an urgent night hearing even though the court is closed this week for the Dussehra vacation.

According to LiveLaw, the petition was not listed before the High Court on Tuesday night, and the leaders' legal team will seek a hearing of the plea on Wednesday.

Das and Ranka were taken into custody on 13 October after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had earlier been denotified as a designated protest site. They were first sent to five days of judicial custody on 14 October. On Monday (19 October), a Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg Police Station extended their judicial remand by two more days after they were produced before him.

Before their detention, Das, Ranka and other CJP workers had displayed the national flag at Jantar Mantar and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — the irregularities are the party's allegation.

In their plea, Das and Ranka claim the Special Executive Magistrate arbitrarily exercised powers to extend their custody under Section 135(3) of the BNSS, claim the ground of custody — default in execution of a bond — is incorrect because the sureties produced on 19 October were as per law, and claim they were given no opportunity to present further sureties with duly executed bonds and FDRs. These are the petitioners' claims as reported by LiveLaw.

"We have moved the Delhi High Court and requested an urgent night hearing. Saurav and Ashutosh should not spend a single minute behind bars. Their liberty must not be curtailed because of political games. Justice must not wait," CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said in a post on X, as reported by PTI.

The CJP has alleged that the bail proceedings in the case have been deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its two co-convenors — an allegation, not an established finding.

Sources: PTI, LiveLaw, The Business Standard (TBS News).