Jantar Mantar trespass case: CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka lodged in Tihar jail

CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, who were arrested for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar, have been remanded to five days of judicial custody by a Delhi court and lodged in Tihar Jail.

The three leaders were produced before the Special Court of the Executive Magistrate (SEM) on Wednesday morning, a day after they were detained for allegedly breaching barricades and entering Jantar Mantar, which was recently denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations.

According to reports, police have registered a case against them on charges including trespass, violation of prohibitory orders, breach of a peace bond and obstructing a public servant in the discharge of official duties.

Ranka and Das had signed bonds undertaking to maintain peace for a year after being detained during an earlier protest in the national capital on Saturday.

CJP legal team head Ratna Singh alleged in a post on X that the party leaders were denied access to their lawyers until late at night. “They were brought to Parliament Street Police Station at 3 am in a private van. Despite these illegal actions, their spirits are high,” Singh wrote.

In a separate interaction with the media, Singh accused the police of acting arbitrarily and following orders from higher authorities.

“While the grounds for arrest were eventually disclosed, the issue remains that the Delhi Police is acting arbitrarily in the current climate. They denied access not only to ordinary volunteers but also to lawyers who had been present since morning,” she said.

“I believe this is merely a tactic to frame people, a way to intimidate them so they do not protest. But they are mistaken; they cannot stop protesters by invoking such sections or detaining them in this manner,” she added.

Delhi Police recently withdrew Jantar Mantar’s designation as an authorised protest site, identifying Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi as alternative venues for demonstrations. The CJP, however, has maintained that it will continue its protest at Jantar Mantar and will not accept any alternative venue.

The developments come amid large-scale protests in the national capital over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls, with demonstrators also demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

On Tuesday, Delhi Police told the Delhi High Court that the decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as an authorised protest site had been taken in accordance with directions issued by the Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, the apex court had asked the government to consider designating an alternative venue for peaceful protests in the national capital.

The top court emphasised the need for a protest site equipped with basic amenities while hearing a petition challenging proposed restrictions on metro stations and the cancellation of trains arriving in Delhi in view of a protest called by the CJP against Gyanesh Kumar.