The detention of two leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), followed by their release after a week in custody, raises questions that extend beyond an unauthorised protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. At issue is the use of preventive law in a democracy where the right to dissent is constitutionally guaranteed but increasingly contested in practice. Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka had earlier been detained at Delhi airport and reportedly required to furnish peace bonds of Rs 50,000 each.

They were later arrested after crossing barricades at Jantar Mantar, recently removed from the list of designated protest sites, and unfurling the national flag. Police treated their conduct as a violation of the earlier undertakings. Their lawyers have challenged the legality of the proceedings. Preventive action is not inherently objectionable. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, an Executive Magistrate can require security for keeping the peace when sufficient grounds exist to anticipate a breach of public tranquillity. But this power is not a licence to pre-empt political mobilisation merely because it might inconvenience the authorities.

Its exercise must rest on credible grounds and remain........

© The Statesman