No relief for waving national flag, but BJP-linked murder convict gets relief: Dipke flags judicial disparity

Drawing attention to the alleged double standards in the judiciary through two contrasting cases — one in which the Allahabad High Court stayed the conviction and sentence of a murder convict aspiring to contest elections on a BJP ticket, and the other in which the judicial custody of CJP leaders was extended by two days — Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke questioned the apparent disparity in the treatment meted out by the courts.

Dipke expressed his displeasure in two posts on X on Monday, October 19, questioning the apparent disparity between the relief granted to a convicted individual aspiring to enter electoral politics and the denial of immediate liberty to the two CJP leaders.

According to reports, the Allahabad High Court stayed the conviction and life sentence of Nandlal Rai, alias Babloo Rai, who was convicted last year in a 2017 murder case. Rai had expressed his desire to contest next year’s Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as an independent candidate or, if possible, on a BJP ticket, while his appeal against the conviction remains pending.

The court observed that a common man’s right to livelihood was no less important than a politician’s right to contest elections, and held that the conviction and sentence deserved to be stayed to enable Rai to sustain himself until a final decision was delivered in his appeal.

In a separate post, Dipke praised Ranka and Das for abandoning successful careers and financial security in pursuit of what they believed would make the country a better place.

“A few years ago, Ashu had a high-paying corporate job in London, earning millions. Saurav was writing about the country’s legal system and living a great life,” he said, adding that both had sacrificed comfortable lives to fight for others despite having no personal obligation to do so.

Dipke said their willingness to stand up for people they had never met, rather than turn away from their struggles, represented one of humanity’s finest qualities.

CJP’s legal head, Ratna Singh, also condemned the proceedings, describing them as “no less than a circus” and calling for the abolition of the special executive magistrate’s court. She alleged that the law was being misused to keep the two activists behind bars, while questioning the rejection of their bail sureties.

Singh maintained that the defence had presented legal arguments and that no apprehension of a protest or breach of peace had been established, yet the two men were remanded to further custody. She also alleged that the magistrate was using a phone during the proceedings and demanded an inquiry into the authorities’ conduct.

Ranka and Das were initially remanded to five days of judicial custody on October 13 after allegedly climbing over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had been de-notified as a designated protest site. They and other activists displayed the national flag and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained.

The CJP has alleged deliberate delays in the bail proceedings and questioned the rejection of the sureties on vague grounds. The two leaders are due to appear before the special executive magistrate again on Wednesday, October 21.