NEW DELHI: A Delhi Executive Magistrate court on Sunday ordered the release of three Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders who were taken into preventive custody by Delhi Police ahead of a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The leaders — Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka — have been directed not to engage in any activity that could disturb peace and public tranquillity for the next year as a condition of their release, according to their advocate.
Ratna Singh, head of legal affairs at CJP, also confirmed the development in a post on X, announcing the release of the three leaders and the condition imposed by the court.
The trio were produced before the Special Executive Magistrate for South West District, who was sitting at Delhi Cantonment police station, following their detention.
Delhi Police had taken the leaders into custody from inside an aircraft shortly after it landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport. They had arrived in the national capital to participate in a protest against the Chief Election Commissioner.
Police invoked Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in connection with the preventive action.
Section 126 empowers an Executive Magistrate to require a person considered likely to breach the peace or disturb public tranquillity to show cause why they should not execute a bond to maintain peace for a period of up to one year.
Section 170 authorises police to arrest a person without a warrant when they have knowledge of a plan to commit a cognizable offence and believe the offence cannot otherwise be prevented. The provision also places statutory limits on detention unless further custody is authorised under another legal provision.
The release comes amid heightened political tensions surrounding protests against the Chief Election Commissioner and the role of the Election Commission.
