The Delhi High Court on Wednesday raised questions about the conduct of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka during a hearing on their plea concerning bail and detention. The two leaders subsequently withdrew their application.
 

Justice Subramonium Prasad questioned the leaders’ alleged breach of a bond they had furnished to maintain peace and order. The court observed that the bond, submitted on October 10, was allegedly violated the following day, October 11.
 

The judge also explained that the High Court generally examines the manner in which a decision was taken, rather than simply reviewing the final outcome, unless the decision is grossly erroneous.
 

The court questioned why the authorities should not be entitled to demand strong evidence when the leaders had allegedly breached the bond for a second time by hoisting a flag at Jantar Mantar.
 

Court asks leaders about their ages
 

During the hearing, Justice Prasad asked the lawyers about the ages of the two leaders. When told that Das was 27 and Ranka was 31, the judge remarked with a smile, “So, you are not Gen Z?”
 

The judge observed that although young people were participating in the protest, the issues being raised appeared to be changing, with discussions now involving the “change of power”.
 

Following the court’s observations, the two leaders withdrew their application.
 

Leaders arrested at Jantar Mantar
 

Das and Ranka were arrested on October 13 after allegedly climbing over the gate at Jantar Mantar to enter the protest site.
 

The CJP had accused the police of obstructing their release on bail. However, court records reportedly showed significant discrepancies in the documents and identification details submitted by their sureties.
 

According to the records, criminal cases had been registered against the first two sureties. The Aadhaar card photographs of the other two sureties did not match, and they were also unable to provide basic information about the leaders.
 

The hearing took place amid the legal proceedings related to the CJP leaders’ protest and detention.