Cockroach Janta Party leaders released after Delhi detentions; Supreme Court orders restoration of metro and internet

Leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party were released from detention in Delhi on Sunday after a night in custody. Founder Abhijeet Dipke, along with Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, appeared before an executive magistrate's court. They were released on the condition that they maintain peace for one year. The group immediately said the protest continues and that they will not stop until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns.

Delhi Police detained thousands of people on Saturday, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, as well as other opposition figures, students and journalists. Figures reported by the group and some outlets ranged from several hundred to more than 7,000. Police sealed Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site, deployed barricades across central Delhi, suspended metro services at several stations, cancelled some trains and restricted mobile internet in parts of the city. Dipke and his co-leaders were detained on their flight from Mumbai before they could disembark.

The protest targets the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties and the CJP allege the process has removed large numbers of legitimate voters in a manner that favours the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission has denied any political motive and says the revision removes only the names of the dead and those who have moved. The CJP, a youth-led group that is not a registered political party, has framed the issue as a defence of voting rights. Its name comes from a remark by the Chief Justice comparing some jobless young people to cockroaches; the group adopted the label.

On Sunday the Supreme Court held a special sitting to hear petitions against the detentions and movement restrictions. The court directed that no illegal detentions of peaceful protesters should occur, that metro and rail services be restored, that internet restrictions be lifted, and that barricades be removed unless specifically required for public order. Live updates from the hearing showed the bench emphasising that police have no independent right to impose blanket curbs. Delhi Police registered more than 20 FIRs related to Saturday's events, including allegations of attacks on officers.

Dipke's grandmother died while he was in custody. The group said police did not allow him to speak to his family at the time. After release he said he would return to his village for the funeral but that the CJP would not back down. Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka thanked the former chief ministers who joined the protest and said civil disobedience would continue. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had earlier stated that the city would not be held hostage.

The scale of the Saturday operation was unusual. Security personnel numbered in the tens of thousands. Markets and roads around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar were largely empty. Protesters used tactics including hiding in a gurdwara and wearing helmets with cockroach antennae. Some media personnel were briefly detained. By Sunday morning most detainees had been released and services were returning to normal under the court's directions.

The episode sits against a backdrop of opposition claims about electoral integrity ahead of state polls. The Election Commission maintains that the SIR is a routine clean-up required by law. Whether the court's intervention reduces further street action or whether the CJP and allied groups return to Jantar Mantar in the coming days will determine if the dispute remains a legal and administrative matter or expands into sustained public confrontation.