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Cockroach Janata Party activist Abhijeet Dipke has been granted bail in Delhi, subject to certain conditions, Delhi Police said here on Saturday.
According to Delhi Police, Dipke will be released after signing a peace bond. This comes after Ratna Singh, head of legal affairs for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Saturday challenged the legality of party founder Abhijeet Dipkes arrest and urged the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) Court to order his immediate release, alleging gross violations of fundamental rights and due process. In a post on X, Singh questioned how urging citizens to participate in a peaceful national demonstration could be treated as an offence. "The SEM Court should release Abhijeet Dipke, as his arrest is unlawful. He merely urged people to unfurl the Tiranga - how can that by itself be a crime?" Singh wrote. Singh expressed serious concerns over the manner in which Dipke was picked up from right outside his residence. She claimed that authorities failed to promptly disclose his whereabouts and denied his legal counsel access to him. "The manner in which he was picked up from right outside his residence, no information about his whereabouts, and the fact that even his lawyers have been unable to meet him raise serious concerns about due process and fundamental rights. How can such an apparent abuse of power be justified in a democracy governed by the rule of law? Delhi Police cannot do unlawful acts under the garb of preventive detention," she added. Singh had earlier confirmed that Dipke was scheduled to be produced before the SEM at Mandir Marg Police Station around noon on Saturday. Delhi Police detained Dipke on Friday to prevent him from leading the scheduled 'Lehra Do Tiranga' rally at Central Park in Connaught Place. Authorities invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), imposing strict prohibitory orders against public assemblies in Central Delhi. The detention comes against the backdrop of widespread demonstrations against the Election Commission regarding alleged irregularities in electoral roll revisions. Police reported detaining roughly 150 demonstrators and registering several FIRs over violations of prohibitory orders after crowds assembled despite public warnings. Following the event, police booked Dipke under Sections 126 and 170 of the BNSS in a fresh preventive proceeding. This marks a separate preventive case from an earlier October 10 action, wherein Dipke was required to sign a peace bond undertaking for a period of one year. The protests come amid continued demonstrations by Opposition leaders, INDIA bloc parties and student organisations against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and its handling of the electoral process. (ANI)
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