CJP contrasts leaders' detention with relief for Uttar Pradesh murder convict

Abhijeet Dipke contrasted the CJP co-convenors' continued detention with judicial relief granted to a murder convict. The party alleged misuse of law and raised concerns about liberty and due process.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday contrasted the Allahabad High Court's decision to stay the conviction and life sentence of a murder convict who wants to contest elections with the continued detention of the party's co-convenors, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, reports news agency Press Trust of India.

Ranka and Das were remanded in judicial custody for two more days after being produced before a newly appointed special executive magistrate at the Mandir Marg police station. The CJP alleged that the law was being misused to keep them in custody.

Dipke shared screenshots of two news reports on X. One was headlined, "Allahabad High Court suspends conviction of murder convict who wishes to contest election on BJP ticket", while the other reported the extension of Ranka and Das's judicial custody.

According to the report shared by Dipke, the Allahabad High Court stayed the conviction and life sentence of Nandlal Rai, also known as Babloo Rai, who was convicted last year in a 2017 murder case. Rai had expressed his desire to contest next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as an independent candidate or, if possible, on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.

The court observed that a common person's right to livelihood was no less important than a politician's right to contest elections. It said Rai's conviction and sentence deserved to be stayed so that he could survive until a final verdict was delivered on his pending appeal.

In another post, Dipke spoke about the sacrifices made by Ranka and Das, saying they had given up successful careers and financial security in the hope of making the country better.

"A few years ago, Ashu had a high-paying corporate job in London, earning millions. Saurav was writing about the country's legal system and living a great life. Both had successful careers, financial security and every reason to continue living the lives they had built for themselves," he said.

"But they chose to give it all up in the hope of making this country a better place. They had absolutely no reason to leave behind their comfortable lives, take to the streets, face uncertainty and eventually end up in jail. Yet they did," Dipke said.

He said what he admired most about the two was that, despite coming from privileged backgrounds, they chose to fight for those who were less fortunate.

"They could have easily looked the other way, enjoyed their lives and never bothered about the struggles of people they had never even met. Nobody asked them to make these sacrifices. Nobody expected them to. But they did, because they genuinely care about people beyond themselves," he said.

Dipke described standing up for unknown people, fighting battles that were not one's own and risking everything to improve another person's life as the greatest qualities a human being could have. "That's the kind of people Ashu and Saurav are," he added.

CJP legal head Ratna Singh also reacted to the developments. "I haven't seen anything this absurd in my entire life," she said in a post on X.

Speaking to reporters later, Singh described the proceedings before the special executive magistrate's court as "no less than a circus" and called for the court to be abolished. She alleged that the law was being misused to keep Ranka and Das in custody.

"The SEM court should be abolished because it is compromised...," she said, questioning the rejection of the sureties submitted for the two leaders.

Singh said their lawyers had argued on legal grounds and that no possibility of a protest or breach of peace had been established. "There has been no call (for a protest) from our end. And still, they were sent to two days' judicial custody. They (authorities) do not want to do anything about their liberty," she said.

She also questioned the magistrate's conduct during the proceedings, alleging that the official was using a phone in the courtroom. Calling for an inquiry into the functioning of the authorities, Singh said the proceedings raised serious concerns about individual liberty.

"I just feel that this entire system is there to crush us, but I don't think it will succeed," she said.

"The youngsters of this country are watching. They are seeing how power is being used. They (authorities) are misusing the law to curb voices...," Singh said, adding that the government would eventually have to answer.

An official told PTI that Ranka and Das were remanded in judicial custody for two more days on Monday after being produced before the newly appointed special executive magistrate.

The two were initially sent to judicial custody for five days on October 13 after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had been removed from the list of designated protest sites. Along with other CJP activists, they displayed the national flag and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained.

The CJP alleged that the bail proceedings were deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its co-convenors. It also questioned the rejection of their bail sureties on what it described as vague grounds.

On Sunday, the special executive magistrate hearing their bail matter claimed that unidentified people were threatening him, following which the police registered a non-cognisable report.

Ranka and Das will be produced before the special executive magistrate again on Wednesday, sources told PTI. Their custody was extended as the CJP continued to question the proceedings and Dipke highlighted the contrast with the Allahabad High Court's decision to stay Rai's conviction and sentence.