CJP leaders Das and Ranka appear before Delhi Crime Branch in Jantar Mantar trespass case

The 5 November appearance

Das and Ranka reached the Crime Branch office in Rajouri Garden on 5 November after being summoned to join the investigation, ANI reported. The two had skipped an earlier summons for 12 noon on 22 October, along with Ajinkya Shinde. Ranka said they had told police they could not attend and were waiting for fresh dates.

The case concerns their entry into Jantar Mantar on 13 October, after Delhi Police had removed the site from its list of designated protest venues and put up barricades. Police alleged the CJP members entered through private premises and violated conditions on maintaining peace. Delhi Police filed an FIR against Das, Ranka and other CJP members for trespass without authorisation. PTI reported, citing a police source, that the FIR sections included breach of a peace bond the leaders had signed earlier.

How the case arose

Delhi Police had announced on the Monday before the entry that Jantar Mantar, an open-air observatory long used for protests, would no longer be an official demonstration site, and named three alternative locations. CJP leaders and supporters went ahead with their action, jumping a gate and barricades before police took them into custody. About 20 volunteers were detained, Tasnim reported. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted on X: "You cannot denotify the resistance."

Das and Ranka had been detained once before in the same protest cycle. On 10 October, police boarded an Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi and detained them with Dipke. A magistrate ordered their release the next day on condition they would not breach public peace for a year, the Straits Times reported. Bhaskar English reported they were released on Rs 50,000 surety bonds each.

Release and conditions

After the 13 October Jantar Mantar entry, they were detained again. A court sent them to five-day judicial custody in Tihar Jail, Bhaskar English reported. On 21 October, the Special Executive Magistrate court released them after accepting personal and surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each until the conclusion of the enquiry, ANI reported. The court directed them to appear on every hearing date and comply with the conditions in their bonds and undertakings. In written undertakings, they promised not to breach peace or disturb public tranquillity and said future protests would be within the constitutional framework.

What happens next

The 5 November appearance was their first before the Crime Branch after the 22 October no-show. The Crime Branch is investigating the trespass case. Das and Ranka remain bound by the SEM court's directions to attend every hearing and follow their bond conditions.