Delhi High Court Orders Restoration Of Cockroach Janta Party's X Account
The Delhi High Court directed the restoration of Cockroach Janta Party's X account after the Centre stated that the account had been blocked during the NEET examination period and no longer required restrictions following the exam's conclusion
The Delhi High Court directed the restoration of Cockroach Janta Party's X account after the Central Government informed the Court that it had no objection to unblocking the handle following the conclusion of the NEET examination
The Delhi High Court has directed the Central Government to revoke its order blocking the X (formerly Twitter) account of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), holding that the principal concern behind the blocking action no longer survives following the conclusion of the NEET 2026 examination.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma allowed the writ petition filed by the founder of the satirical collective, directing the Union Government to revoke the impugned blocking order communicated through an email dated May 21, 2026, and restore the X handle @CJP_2029.
The petitioner had sought quashing of the blocking order, restoration of the account, and disclosure of the order, reasons, records and material forming the basis of the action.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union Government, submitted that the account had been blocked because it was allegedly attempting to mislead students and their parents regarding the cancellation of the NEET 2026 examination.
The Solicitor General also submitted that the account had become a platform through which young people were raising grievances and communicating them to the Central and State Governments.
Recording the submission, the Court observed that the circumstances had now materially changed.
"This Court is of the opinion that since the NEET Examinations are already over, the aforesaid primary concern of respondent no. 1 does not survive."
In view of this finding, the Court directed: "In these circumstances, the impugned blocking order as referred in Email dated 21.05.2026, passed by respondent no. 1, is directed to be revoked."
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the writ petition and disposed of all pending applications.
The X account had been withheld in India pursuant to a blocking direction issued by the Central Government under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The petitioner had challenged the legality of the action, seeking immediate restoration of the account and disclosure of the material relied upon for the blocking order.
With the High Court's order, the Centre has now been directed to revoke the blocking order, restoring public access to the Cockroach Janta Party's X account in India.
During an earlier hearing on May 29, the High Court had declined to order immediate restoration of the account, observing that such relief could only be considered after hearing the Union Government given the wider implications of the matter. The Court had also indicated that it would examine whether X could be directed to place the blocking order on record once the Centre filed its response.
The Cockroach Janta Party emerged as a satirical online movement after remarks made by then Chief Justice Surya Kant during Supreme Court proceedings on May 15, where he referred to certain unemployed law graduates and individuals entering the profession through forged qualifications. The remarks sparked widespread online discussion, following which the satirical collective gained significant traction on social media.
Importantly, the Chief Justice of India had later clarified his controversial "Parasites" remark, stating that media has misquoted his oral observations which were made during hearing of a frivolous case. “I am pained to read how a section of the media has misquoted my oral observations made during the hearing of a frivolous case yesterday. What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites," the CJI Surya Kant had said. "It is totally baseless to suggest that I criticised the youth of our nation. Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me. It is not an exaggeration to say that Indian youth have great regard and respect for me, and I too see them as the pillars of a developed India,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had further said on his statement on youth, misquoted by a section of media.
Case Title: Abhijeet Dipke v. Union of India
Bench: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma
Hearing Date: July 7, 2026