Delhi Court Releases Three CJP Leaders After Detention

Abhijit Dipak, Sourav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).

Three leaders of India's satirical political group Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) have been released by a court after being detained over allegations that they called on young people to gather at Delhi's Jantar Mantar to protest against the country's chief election commissioner.

Those released are Abhijit Deepke, Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The group initially gained attention through online campaigns.

The three were detained on Saturday after arriving in Delhi and were taken into custody from inside their aircraft. An executive magistrate's court in Delhi Cantonment ordered their release on Sunday morning.

Police detained more than 3,000 people, including politicians and actors, across India on Saturday in connection with the planned demonstrations. Most of the other detainees were released later that night.

Authorities imposed extensive security measures across the capital to prevent disorder around Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in central Delhi. Unable to gather in one place, protesters staged demonstrations in smaller groups at different locations across the city.

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, a vocal critic of India's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, was also among those detained. He was released late Saturday after receiving a warning.

## Supreme Court hearing expected

Meanwhile, India's Supreme Court was expected to hold a special hearing on Sunday on a contempt petition concerning the decision to suspend services at several Delhi Metro stations and disrupt train operations on Saturday.

Metro services were operating normally on Sunday morning, but large numbers of security personnel remained deployed at station entrances and exits. Buses were also stationed nearby to transport people detained during the protests.

On Friday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant had directed authorities not to suspend Metro services completely ahead of Saturday's demonstrations. Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana were also members of the bench.

CJP leaders have said their street protests will continue until accountability is ensured over allegations of manipulation of voter lists and the removal of 130 million voters' names.

They alleged that an “undeclared emergency” had been imposed in Delhi to prevent peaceful public gatherings.