Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke moves Delhi HC against X account ban

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has moved the Delhi High Court against the blocking of the organisation’s X account, challenging the Centre’s decision to suspend the handle on grounds linked to national security. The plea, filed through Advocate Nakul Gandhi of NG Law Chambers, is expected to come up for hearing on May 27.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the Union government directed X to block the account after the Intelligence Bureau (IB) reportedly flagged concerns related to national security. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is said to have invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to issue the takedown order.

The Cockroach Janta Party surfaced earlier this month as a satirical digital movement that quickly drew attention across social media platforms, especially among younger audiences. The group has since amassed a large online following, with several lakh followers on X and more than 22 million followers on Instagram. The movement traces its origins to proceedings in the Supreme Court on May 15, when a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed concern over unemployed law graduates moving away from legal practice towards social media activities and RTI-related work. During the hearing, the CJI remarked that some “youngsters like cockroaches” were becoming a burden on society.

“There are youngsters like cockroaches who are not getting employment in the profession. Some are on social media, some become RTI activists,” the CJI had observed. The Chief Justice later clarified that the comments were aimed at individuals allegedly entering professions through fake qualifications and forged degrees, and not at unemployed youth in general. Founded by Dipke, who is based in Boston in the United States, the collective employs satire and online political commentary to raise issues relating to unemployment, institutional transparency and media freedoms.