Society Talk

Explainer: remand, sureties and peace bonds in the Cockroach movement case

Many people asked in other threads what exactly happened legally in Delhi. I am not a lawyer, I work in HR, but I read The Week's version, which gave the procedure. Here is a simple summary based only on the GONOM post. Lawyers, please correct me.

Detained: Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka entered Jantar Mantar, a site police had removed from designated protest venues, to unfurl the national flag.

The peace bond issue: police said they had also broken peace bonds signed earlier. A peace bond is, as I understand it, a promise to the authorities not to disturb public order.

Custody: they spent a week in custody. On October 21 police asked for three more days.

Release: the Special Executive Magistrate's court refused that and released them on sureties, with a pledge not to breach the peace or call for protests at Jantar Mantar while it stays closed. The Delhi High Court had declined to step in earlier that day.

Questions: what are sureties exactly in India? And is an executive magistrate the same as a judge?