The Delhi High Court on Wednesday observed that the Cockroach Janta Party’s causes kept changing throughout different protests and said that it was a relevant question for the special executive magistrate (SEM) court to consider.’
The court was hearing a plea by the two CJP leaders against the extension of their judicial custody by a special executive magistrate (SEM) court. The observation comes days after a row erupted over Senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s ‘regime change’ remarks . Justice Subramonium Prasad of the Delhi High Court, while hearing the petitions of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, questioned the purpose of the outfit, saying that when there is an apprehension of breach of peace, such questions will assume importance. “In the first instance(July), it was students’ protests; children were there. Then the next question is, who are you? What are you? What is your association? What is it meant for? What is the purport of your association?
Now it is another cause, so therefore, people remain the same, but the cause is changing.
“Suddenly, we hear about regime change, which we normally do by ballot,” the court said, Live Law reported. In a press conference alongside CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, student organisation leaders and activists, Bhushan said calls for regime change were part of democratic rights and that creating “disaffection” against a government was not a crime under the Constitution. When there is an apprehension of breach of peace, all these questions will assume importance,” it said.
“The organisation continues, but the cause changes. The SEM court later extended their custody by two days . Das and Ranka were detained and subsequently sent to judicial custody after they trespassed Jantar Mantar, a denotified protest site, on October 13.
Whether such a group of persons whose causes keep on changing – right to protest is there, no doubt – when the Magistrate goes into the question of breach of peace, all these questions assume importance as to who you are and what is your motive,” it added, according to Live Law.
