Delhi HC orders unblocking of Cockroach Janta Party's X account
What's the story
The Delhi High Court has ordered the unblocking of the X account of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The decision came after the Central government said it had no objections to unblocking. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, informed Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that the account was blocked due to concerns over National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examinations.
Reasoning explained
'The account should then be unblocked': Justice Sharma
The Solicitor General said, "It was blocked at a time when NEET examination was to take place. Lakhs of students were to appear. Several posts (on X) which would have created chaos among student and parents." After hearing this, Justice Sharma ordered the unblocking of the account, saying "the account should then be unblocked."
Legal proceedings
CJP's plea challenging blocking order
The court's order came on a plea by CJP founder Abhijit Dipke, who had challenged the government's blocking order. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had issued the blocking order under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. According to The Indian Express, the government ordered the blocking following inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that raised "national security concerns." During previous hearings, the court had refrained from restoring the account immediately due to its far-reaching consequences.
Movement details
What is Cockroach Janta Party?
The CJP is a satirical online movement that has gained immense popularity, particularly among the youth. It has hundreds of thousands of followers on X and over 22 million on Instagram. The movement was born out of Supreme Court proceedings held on May 15, when Chief Justice of India Surya Kant spoke about unemployed young lawyers turning to social media and RTI activism, likening them to "cockroaches."