The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed restoration of the X account of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) after the Central government informed the Court that it no longer had any objection to unblocking the account.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, submitted that the circumstances which had led to the blocking of the account no longer existed and that the government had no objection to restoring access.
The SG apprised the Court that the account had been blocked in view of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test. He submitted that several posts on the account had the potential to create confusion and panic among lakhs of students and their parents during the conduct of the re-examination of NEET UG 2026, held on June 21, 2026. Since the examination had concluded, the government did not oppose restoration of the account. He also indicated that users should exercise greater caution while using social media platforms.
Taking note of the Centre’s stand, Justice Sharma directed that the X account be unblocked and allowed the writ petition filed by CJP founder Abhijit Dipke.
Dipke had approached the High Court challenging the blocking order issued by the Union government, contending that the suspension of the account was arbitrary and unlawful. The petition, filed through Advocate Nakul Gandhi of NG Law Chambers, challenged the blocking action, which had cited national security concerns as the basis for restricting access to the account.
According to the Union government, the account had been withheld pursuant to intelligence inputs received from the Intelligence Bureau raising concerns relating to national security. Based on those inputs, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had directed X to block the account under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which empowers the Central government to block public access to online content in the interests of India’s sovereignty, integrity, security of the State, public order or other specified grounds.
During an earlier hearing on May 29, the High Court had declined to grant immediate interim relief restoring the account, observing that such a direction could not be issued without first hearing the Union government, particularly because the matter involved wider legal and public interest implications. The Court had also indicated that it would consider whether X could be directed to place the blocking order on record after the Centre filed its detailed response.
With the Union government withdrawing its objection during Tuesday’s hearing, the Court ordered restoration of the account.
CJP emerged as a satirical online movement that gained significant traction across social media, particularly among younger users. The collective amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on X and more than 22 million followers on Instagram through political satire focusing on issues such as unemployment, institutional accountability and media freedom.
The movement traces its origin to proceedings before the Supreme Court on May 15, when a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant expressed concern over unemployed young lawyers moving away from legal practice towards social media and the Right to Information activism.
During the hearing, the CJI used the expression “cockroaches” while referring to individuals who, according to him, were not finding employment in the legal profession and were instead turning to such activities. The Chief Justice subsequently clarified that the remarks were directed at persons entering professions through forged qualifications and fake degrees, and not intended to refer to unemployed young people generally.
The satirical collective, founded by Dipke, who is based in Boston, United States, has also organised protests at Jantar Mantar seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged leak of question papers relating to NEET and other competitive examinations.
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