Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and online satirist Abhijit Debaki on Monday moved the Delhi High Court challenging the blocking of the party’s official X account.
The petition, filed through advocate Nakul Gandhi, challenges the May 21 decision to block the account five days after the group was launched and saw a massive rise on social media.
The satirical movement was born out of remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a hearing on granting the title of “senior” to lawyers, whereby “young people” were allegedly referred to as “cockroaches” and “parasites”. The CJI later clarified that he had been misquoted and that his statements were directed at individuals entering the legal profession with “fake and fictitious degrees”, and not young people.
The move to restrict CJP’s X account came at a time when the online collective has emerged as one of the fastest growing online trends in the country. Her Instagram account has crossed 22.9 million followers, surpassing the official Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Instagram page. Thousands of users have also signed up through online membership forms put out by the group. Hours after they were banned, they appeared to be back under another headline called “The Cockroach Is Back,” where they posted, “You thought you could get rid of us? Haha.”
Under the X Content Policy, the system can restrict accounts in certain countries if it receives a valid legal request from authorized agencies or if the content violates local laws.
Dipke’s petition to restore CJP’s The petition said the formation of this group amounts to a “sensational publication” of the court’s May 15 observation.
The request for extra-judicial hearing of the petition seeking action against the CJP was rejected by a three-judge bench headed by the CJI. “There is no great urgency. We will look into the matter in due course,” the bench told the lawyer who represented the petitioner.
Opposition leaders said the campaign’s popularity reflected growing frustration among unemployed youth and accused the government of failing to address concerns about jobs and inflation. Some members of Congress and left-leaning social media also shared photos and posts related to the campaign, calling it a “digital protest” against the political establishment.
