Cockroach Janta Party Row: Bengaluru Resident Withdraws PIL After Allahabad High Court Questions Jurisdiction

The Allahabad High Court on June 2, 2026, declined to entertain a public interest litigation seeking a multi-agency investigation against the social media movement known as "Cockroach Janta Party" (CJP) and its founder Abhijeet Dipke.

A division bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abdesh Kumar Chaudhary refused to proceed with the plea after expressing reservations over the maintainability of the petition in Uttar Pradesh, as the petition was filed by Bengaluru-based BJP functionary S. Vignesh Shishir.

The petitioner subsequently sought permission to withdraw the matter, which was allowed. Court said the petitioner should have moved the Karnataka High Court first.

The petition sought directions for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising officials from various intelligence and investigative agencies to probe what he described as a "foreign-funded information warfare campaign" allegedly being carried out through the Cockroach Janta Party.

The plea also sought criminal action by agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Dipke and other persons associated with the online movement.

The PIL alleged that the social media campaign was aimed at creating distrust in constitutional institutions and influencing public discourse through coordinated online activity. It further claimed that the movement had international links and sought a detailed investigation into its funding and operations.

The controversy surrounding the Cockroach Janta Party emerged after a remark made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during court proceedings referring to certain unemployed youth as "cockroaches". The comment subsequently triggered a wave of online satire, memes and digital campaigns, culminating in the creation of the Cockroach Janta Party as a satirical internet movement. The outfit rapidly gained visibility across social media platforms and attracted a significant online following.

The Allahabad High Court petition was not the first legal challenge mounted against the movement. Earlier, a plea had been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a CBI investigation into alleged activities linked to the Cockroach Janta Party, including accusations of misuse of judicial observations and involvement of purported fake advocates. However, the apex court declined to grant urgent listing of the matter, with Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly remarking that the issue should not be taken "so sentimentally."

Separately, the Cockroach Janta Party and its founder are also engaged in litigation before the Delhi High Court concerning the blocking of the outfit's account on social media platform X. The Union government had reportedly directed the withholding of the account citing security-related concerns. While the Delhi High Court recently issued notices to the Centre and X on Dipke's challenge to the action, it declined interim relief and directed the matter to be considered by the review mechanism under the Information Technology Rules.

With the withdrawal of the PIL, the challenge before the Allahabad High Court has come to an end for now.

Case Title: S. Vignesh Shishir vs. UOI and 21 Others

Hearing Date: June 2, 2026

Bench: Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Abdesh Kumar Chaudhary