The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to order the immediate unblocking of the X (formerly Twitter) account belonging to the satirical digital outfit “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP). However, the court has directed an IT Rules review committee to urgently examine the matter and deliver a decision before July 7.
Hearing a petition filed by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notices to both the Central Government and X, seeking their official responses. While refusing to grant interim relief at this stage, the court permitted Dipke to present his case virtually before the review panel, noting that the committee holds the legal authority to overturn the block if satisfied.
“It is directed that before the next date of hearing, let the review committee examine all such aspects. Let the decision be placed on record,” Justice Kaurav ordered, listing the next court hearing for July 7.
‘Pure Satire’ or ‘Offending Activity’? The Legal Clash
During the proceedings, senior advocate Akhil Sibal, representing Dipke, argued that the CJP account is an outlet for “pure satire.” Sibal contended that even if specific tweets were deemed objectionable, the authorities should have withheld only those individual posts rather than suspending the entire account.
Sibal also pressed for an interim unblocking, requesting the court to examine the official blocking order. He revealed that the order has not yet been provided to Dipke.
However, Justice Kaurav pointed out that the blocking order was not currently on the court record. He stated that the court would address the petitioner’s interim request only after the Centre files its formal response.
“We will consider. This entire law [on blocking] is still at a nascent stage. Let us not precipitate things today,” the judge observed. “Let them take notice and come back to us. Whatever material they have, I can direct them to place it.”
Addressing Sibal’s argument that previous court orders had protected other social media handles by restricting blocks to specific offending tweets, Justice Kaurav suggested this case might be different.
“The defence in those cases was that there were some tweets that were found to be offending. In this case, what seems to be the reason is that the entire activity per se perhaps was slightly offending,” the judge remarked orally.
The Genesis: A Controversy Over Judicial Remarks
The Cockroach Janta Party has a highly unconventional origin. Dipke, a former associate of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), launched the initiative on May 16 amid a major public controversy.
The spark was a set of remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant during a May 15 hearing regarding senior designations for lawyers, where he reportedly referenced “cockroaches” and “parasites.”
Though the CJI issued a strongly worded clarification on May 16—stating he was “pained” by media reports, misquoted, and that his comments were strictly targeted at individuals entering the legal profession with “fake and bogus degrees”—the digital movement had already taken on a life of its own.
A Growing Digital Protest
Despite having its original X handle withheld in India on May 21, the group quickly regrouped. Operating under a new handle, “Cockroach is Back,” the movement has amassed over 227,000 followers.
Supporters have adopted the “cockroach” identity as a unique symbol of digital mobilization and protest. According to its organizers, the CJP aims to build an independent, youth-driven movement to champion youth issues and demand government accountability.
Most recently, the group has been active in organizing a high-profile campaign demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, citing systemic failures in the education sector and the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
With the High Court deferring its final stance, all eyes now turn to the IT Rules review committee’s upcoming decision before the July 7 deadline.
