Politics · 2026-10-19 · Morning briefing

Indian opposition leaders remain in custody after magistrate recuses self

Two leaders from India’s Cockroach Janta Party, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, remain in judicial custody after their scheduled release on Sunday was stalled. The pair's bail hearing was halted after the presiding special executive magistrate first failed to arrive on time, then recused himself from the case, citing a threat to his life.

Ranka and Das were sent to custody on October 14 for five days after entering Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. They were detained amid protests demanding the removal of top election official Gyanesh Kumar over his alleged involvement in electoral irregularities and mass deletions from voter rolls. While the party's founder, Abhijeet Dipke, was released on Saturday, the other two leaders remain detained.

Ratna Singh, the CJP's legal affairs chief, has alleged a "deliberate use of delaying tactics" by authorities. On Sunday, she stated that all required legal procedures had been completed and they were "merely waiting for formal approval" for the release.

Summary written by Cup of News with AI from the sources below. Check the originals for the full story.

Read the sources

• India Cockroach leaders remain in custody as release delayed
• 'Cockroach' party founder released from Indian police custody
• India’s ‘Cockroach’ party leader released from police custody
• CJP activists sent to 5-day judicial custody, Opposition targets Centre; Dipke calls for Tiranga march
• ‘An act of cowardice’: Rahul Gandhi condemns CJP leaders’ five-day custody, Dipke alleges ‘unofficial Emergency’

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