Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday approached the Delhi High Court seeking an urgent hearing against the extension of their judicial custody.With the high court closed this week for the Dasehra vacation, Das and Ranka sought a night hearing against the extension of their custody.A newly appointed Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) at the Mandir Marg police station on Monday extended their judicial custody by two more days after they were produced before him. The two have been in custody since October 13.The leaders have alleged that their continued detention violates their fundamental right to liberty and that the SEM extended custody without independently examining whether their detention was necessary.A key contention in their plea is that the SEM cited non-furnishing of the required bond, while the petitioners claim that sureties had already been produced as required under the law.The leaders have also alleged that the SEM acted on the police application without conducting an independent assessment of the circumstances warranting their detention. They have argued that protesting at a prohibited location, by itself, may amount to a violation of rules but does not necessarily establish a threat to public order.The case assumes significance because the SEM had earlier justified continued custody by observing that the conduct of Das and Ranka indicated a lack of respect for law and that they could disturb peace and order.The Delhi Police had detained the two on October 13. They were sent to judicial custody for five days by the SEM on October 15, before Monday’s order extended it to October 21.The high court’s response to the challenge will, therefore, have implications beyond the immediate custody of the two leaders: it will test the justification for keeping protestors detained when the alleged conduct is linked to a prohibited protest location and the authorities rely on concerns over public order.Any relief or adverse finding by the high court could also bring greater scrutiny to how executive-magisterial powers are being used in protest-related cases in the Capital.Dipke reiterates distance from ‘regime change’ narrativeCJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday for the second time distanced the party’s protests from the “regime change” narrative, stressing their alleged peaceful and Gandhian character as party leaders Sourav Das and Ashutosh Ranka remain in custody. In a video statement on X, Dipke rejected comparisons between the CJP campaign and violent upheavals in Nepal and Bangladesh, saying Das and Ranka had gone to jail “with smiles on their faces”. He described their detention as part of a “Gandhian Satyagraha” intended to awaken public conscience.Naveen, Annamalai back CJP leadersK Annamalai, former Tamil Nadu BJP president said, “I may not agree with many of the CJP’s modes of protest. I may not agree with some of their antics…. But I completely support the CJP in terms of the questions they want to raise. It is for the government to answer. But to arrest them for a violation and again to drag them in terms of how they spend their time in jail, that is only going to make the leaders of CJP stronger… the Delhi Police are doing a real disservice.” Naveen Patnaik, BJD president and former Odisha CM, said: “The judicial custody of Ranka and Das must be urgently reviewed and they must be released immediately. Hoisting the national flag, even in a prohibited area, should not warrant such prolonged detention. The judiciary and the executive must rise to the occasion to ensure that the youth of this country do not lose faith in the rule of law and constitutional rights.”