Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Wednesday withdrew their petitions before the Delhi High Court challenging the extension of their judicial custody by a Special Executive Magistrate in connection with protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Justice Subramonium Prasad permitted the withdrawal without expressing any opinion on the merits of the challenge after indicating that the petitioners had an alternative remedy available under law.
The Court advised the petitioners to await the outcome of the proceedings before the Special Executive Magistrate and pursue appropriate legal remedies if their grievance remained unresolved.
“Liberty is sacrosanct. But if the Code provides for remedy… when there is already provision available,” the judge orally remarked during the hearing.
The petitioners had challenged an October 19 order extending their judicial custody by two days, until October 21. They contended that the order was legally unsustainable and that the magistrate had arbitrarily rejected the sureties furnished on their behalf.
Advocate Abhik Chimni, appearing for Das and Ranka, argued that the Special Executive Magistrate had extended their custody without adequately recording the circumstances establishing an imminent apprehension of a breach of peace. He submitted that the impugned order relied on the State’s submissions without undertaking an independent assessment of the necessity for continued custody.
The counsel also questioned the rejection of the sureties, arguing that the magistrate had failed to properly examine the persons offered as sureties before declining to accept them. He contended that the petitioners should not be deprived of their liberty on account of alleged procedural deficiencies in the surety verification process.
The High Court, however, questioned why the petitioners had invoked its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution when the challenged order could be assailed before the appropriate revisional forum. The Bench underscored the distinction between the maintainability of a writ petition and whether the Court should entertain it when an alternative statutory remedy is available.
During the hearing, the Court also referred to the allegation that the petitioners had breached undertakings to maintain peace by entering Jantar Mantar, which had been denotified as a designated protest site. The Bench observed that the alleged violation of the earlier bond was a matter that could be examined in the appropriate proceedings.
The petitioners had been taken into preventive custody following their alleged entry into the restricted protest site amid demonstrations against the Chief Election Commissioner. They were initially remanded to five days of judicial custody on October 14. Their custody was subsequently extended by two days on October 19.
In the October 19 order, the Special Executive Magistrate recorded concerns about the alleged breach of the earlier bonds and the possibility of a further disturbance of public peace. The magistrate also rejected the sureties furnished by the petitioners, citing discrepancies in the identification documents and doubts about their suitability.
The petitioners disputed these findings, maintaining that the custody extension was arbitrary and that the magistrate had failed to comply with the safeguards governing preventive proceedings under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Prasad suggested that the petitioners await the proceedings scheduled before the Special Executive Magistrate later on Wednesday and approach the appropriate appellate or revisional forum if necessary. Chimni subsequently sought permission to withdraw the petitions, which the Court granted.
The High Court clarified that the withdrawal would not entail any adjudication on the merits of the petitioners’ challenge to the custody order.
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