Members of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, have approached the Delhi High Court challenging their judicial custody in connection with protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has transferred the cases against the two activists to its Crime Branch for further investigation.
The activists filed their petition on October 20, a day before a special executive magistrate was scheduled to consider extending their custody. However, the High Court remained closed for Dussehra, and their plea had not been listed for a hearing as of late Tuesday. The petition sought an urgent hearing to challenge their continued detention.
Das and Ranka were detained on October 13 after allegedly climbing a gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had been denotified as an authorised protest venue. They were demonstrating against the ongoing SIR exercise, which involves revising electoral rolls.
The two activists have spent seven days in custody, including an initial five-day remand followed by a two-day extension. Their custody period was scheduled to end on Wednesday, October 21, when the authorities were expected to consider whether they should be released or their detention extended.
In a separate development, the Delhi Police transferred the cases concerning demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and Connaught Place on October 13 to its Crime Branch. The protests were reportedly held without the necessary permission, and the Crime Branch will investigate the allegations linked to both incidents.
The transfer of the cases comes as the authorities consider the next course of action regarding the activists’ custody. If the special executive magistrate orders their release, the petition challenging their detention could become redundant, depending on the subsequent legal proceedings.
The case has brought renewed attention to the legal proceedings surrounding the detention of the CJP members and the protests against the SIR exercise. The demonstrations reflect concerns raised by groups opposing aspects of the electoral-roll revision process.