Delhi HC orders unblocking of CJP's X handle, account back online in India

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court ordered the restoration of the Cockroach Janta Party's X handle on Tuesday after the Centre informed it that the account was withheld to prevent "chaos" ahead of the NEET re-test and that there would be no difficulty revoking it now.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma was hearing a petition filed by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke against the Centre's "disproportionate" action that led to the withholding of its X handle on May 21.

Shortly after the court order, the CJP's original handle, CJP_for_India, could be accessed on X.

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.

"Several posts would have created chaos among the students and their parents. Of course, now the examination is over," he said.

Stating that there would be no difficulty if directions were issued for revoking the blocking order at this stage, SG Mehta added, "I would only request everyone to be a little more circumspect considering the students."

Justice Sharma said, "Since NEET is already over, the primary concern is no longer of any relevance. In these circumstances, the order is revoked. The petition is allowed."

In the petition, Dipke, who was represented by senior advocate Akhil Sibal, had said that the CJP's account was a satire, which was protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. If there was any offending content, the authorities could have specifically blocked that instead of taking a "disproportionate" action.

The plea had asserted that the blocking was in complete violation of the principles of natural justice, as well as the procedural safeguards under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, because the authorities acted without prior notice or providing any reasons to the petitioner.

On May 29, the high court had refused to order the restoration of the CJP's handle, but asked a review committee under the IT Rules to examine the issue and take a decision before July 7.

The CJP took social media by storm soon after its launch on May 16, following a controversy over remarks made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, which were widely interpreted as him likening unemployed youths to "cockroaches".

After its X handle was withheld on May 21, the group soon resurfaced with a new handle, 'Cockroach is Back', which has over 2,80,000 followers.

The movement has drawn attention for its unconventional symbolism and digital mobilisation strategy, with supporters describing the "cockroach" identity as a form of protest.

The CJP says it wants to build an independent youth-driven movement to amplify the concerns of the youth and hold the government accountable.

It has 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.

The CJP's protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Pradhan's resignation and government accountability entered its 18th day on Tuesday.