Delhi HC directs restoration of Cockroach Janta Party's X account, revokes Centre's order

Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered the restoration of Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) social media account, revoking the Centre's blocking order, LiveLaw reported.

A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma allowed the petition of CJP founder Abhijit Dipke, stating that the primary concern of the Central government is no longer of relevance since the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam is over.

Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the CJP's social media handle was blocked to avoid "chaos" among students and parents ahead of the June 21 NEET re-test.

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court observed that since the exam had concluded, that concern no longer existed and accordingly allowed the plea.

The court previously directed the review committee of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) to examine the CJP founder's case, permitting him to appear virtually.

CJP founder reacts to Delhi HC's ruling

Reacting to the development, CJP founder Dipke, in a post on X, wrote, "In a big win for the Cockroach Janta Party, the Delhi High Court has ordered unblocking of our original X account. This is a big win not just for the CJP and the movement, but also for free speech and digital rights. We will continue to raise the youth’s voice both online and offline."

However, at the time of publishing, the official account of CJP on X remains withheld.

Why was the CJP's X account withheld?

The original X handle of the CJP was started on 15 May following a controversy over Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant's remarks and was later withheld in India on 21 May. After the party's account was withheld, the founder moved the Delhi High Court, challenging the Centre's plea. According to news agency ANI, Dipke moved the high court following the suspension of the party's X account, which was allegedly blocked by the government on national security grounds.

The party's founder also claimed previously that official X and Instagram accounts were hacked before being suspended. Soon after, the group resurfaced with a new handle, 'Cockroach is Back', which presently has over 2,27,000 followers.

What is CJP?

Earlier in May, CJI Kant described unemployed young Indians as ‘like cockroaches’ who, failing to find jobs, turn to social media, journalism, and RTI activism to ‘attack the system.’ He called such individuals ‘parasites of society.’

Soon after, the 'Cockroach Janta Party' trend exploded online with founder Dipke, a Boston University student and a former associate of the Aam Aadmi Party, creating social media accounts. According to the party's website, to become a member, a person needed to be "unemployed, lazy, chronically online" and have the "ability to rant professionally.

The movement has gained attention for its unusual symbolism and online mobilisation efforts, with its supporters portraying the "cockroach" identity as a symbolic expression of protest.

The CJP says it aims to build an independent, youth-led movement to amplify young people's concerns and hold the government accountable. It has also launched a campaign demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged systemic failures in the education sector and the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.