Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke drew a comparison between the Allahabad High Court’s decision to stay the conviction and life sentence of a murder accused seeking to contest elections and the continued detention of CJP co-convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, according to reports.
Ranka and Das were remanded to judicial custody for another two days on Monday. The CJP demanded their immediate release and accountability from the institutions concerned, adding that it would challenge the order before higher judicial forums.
Dipke posted screenshots of two news reports on X. The first carried the headline, “Allahabad High Court suspends conviction of murder convict who wishes to contest election on BJP ticket,” while the second reported that the judicial custody of Ranka and Das had been extended.
According to the report shared by Dipke, the Allahabad High Court suspended the conviction and life sentence of Nandlal Rai, also known as Babloo Rai, who was convicted in 2025 in connection with a 2017 murder case. Rai has expressed his intention to contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, either as an independent candidate or, if possible, on a BJP ticket. His appeal challenging the conviction is currently pending before the court.
The court observed that the right to livelihood of an ordinary citizen was as important as a politician’s right to contest elections. It held that the conviction and sentence warranted suspension to enable Rai to sustain himself until a final decision was delivered on his appeal.
In a separate post, Dipke highlighted the sacrifices made by Ranka and Das, stating that they had left behind successful careers and financial stability with the aim of contributing to a better future for the country.
“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 valued most about the duo was their decision to stand up for the underprivileged despite coming from privileged backgrounds. “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.
Ranka and Das were initially remanded to five days of judicial custody on October 13 after allegedly scaling a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, days after the site was withdrawn from the list of designated protest venues. Along with other CJP activists, they displayed the national flag and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained.
On Sunday, the special executive magistrate presiding over their bail proceedings alleged that unidentified individuals had threatened him. Police subsequently registered a non-cognisable report in connection with the complaint.
The judicial custody of Ranka and Das has now been extended by two days.
