Delhi HC declines interim relief to CJP, asks for review of X account block

The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to direct the immediate restoration of the X account of satirical digital collective Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), but asked a review committee constituted under the IT Rules to examine the matter and take a decision before 7 July.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav allowed CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke to appear before the committee virtually and observed that if the panel concludes the blocking order should be revoked, it has the legal authority to restore the outfit’s X account.

The court issued notices to the Centre and X on Dipke’s petition challenging the blocking of the CJP handle by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It sought their responses and posted the matter for further hearing on 7 July.

“Before the next date of hearing, let the review committee examine all such aspects. Let the decision be placed on record,” the court said.

Senior advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for Dipke, argued that the CJP account was “pure satire” and contended that if some posts were objectionable, authorities could have restricted only those tweets rather than blocking the entire account.

Seeking interim restoration of the handle, Dipke’s counsel urged the court to examine the blocking order, which he said had not been provided to the petitioner.

Justice Kaurav, however, noted that the blocking order was not available on record and said the court would consider the request after the Centre filed its response, given that the case raised issues with “wider ramifications”.

“We will consider. This entire law (on blocking) is still at a nascent stage. Let us not precipitate things today. Let them take notice and come back to us. Whatever material they have, I can direct them to place it,” the judge said, while suggesting that the petitioner pursue his grievance before the review committee in the meantime.

Referring to earlier cases in which courts had ordered selective withholding of contentious social media posts, Sibal argued that similar relief could be granted here. The court, however, indicated that the present matter appeared materially different.

“In those cases, the defence was that some tweets were found offending. In this case, what seems to be the reason is that the entire activity per se perhaps was slightly offending,” the judge orally observed.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed interim relief, saying that restoring the account at this stage would effectively amount to allowing the petition itself.

In his plea, Dipke argued that the CJP account constituted satire protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. He maintained that if authorities found specific content objectionable, they could have targeted those posts instead of taking what he termed a “disproportionate” step.

The petition alleged that the blocking action violated principles of natural justice and procedural safeguards under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, as authorities acted without prior notice and failed to provide reasons for the decision.

It further claimed the action was arbitrary, opaque and infringed the petitioner’s fundamental rights.

Dipke, formerly associated with the Aam Aadmi Party, launched the Cockroach Janta Party amid controversy surrounding remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a 15 May hearing on a plea related to senior designation for a lawyer.

On 16 May, the CJI issued a strongly worded clarification, saying he was “pained” by reports suggesting he had criticised young people. He said his comments were directed at individuals entering the legal profession with “fake and bogus degrees” and had been misrepresented by sections of the media.

CJP’s original X account was withheld in India on 21 May. The group later resurfaced under a new handle, ‘Cockroach is Back’, which has amassed more than 2,27,000 followers.

The initiative has attracted attention for its unconventional symbolism and online mobilisation, with supporters presenting the “cockroach” identity as a form of political protest.

Launched on 16 May, the CJP says it aims to create an independent, youth-led movement focused on amplifying young people’s concerns and holding the government accountable.

The group recently launched a campaign seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged systemic failures in the education sector and the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak.

With PTI inputs