Cockroach Janta Party Founder Challenges Social Media Account Blocks in Delhi High Court

NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday moved to Delhi high court challenging the Centre over the blocking of the group's social media accounts, days after the satirical online movement went viral. Dipke has challenged the suspension of the party's X account, which was allegedly blocked by the government on national security grounds, according to ANI. He had earlier also claimed that the party's Instagram and X accounts were hacked before being suspended. The internet-based movement, which recently gained traction through memes and commentary on unemployment, education policy and alleged examination paper leaks. Within days of its launch, the campaign became one of the country’s most talked-about online trends. The controversy escalated after Dipke alleged on Saturday that several social media accounts linked to the movement had suddenly become inaccessible. He further claimed that the group’s backup account was briefly taken down and that his personal Instagram account had also been hacked. "Crackdown on Cockroach Janta Party. Instagram page hacked. My personal Instagram hacked. Twitter account withheld. Back up account also taken down,"Dipke wrote on X. "Please note that we currently do not have access to any of our platforms. Any post made after this should not be considered an official statement from the Cockroach Janta Party,"he added. The original X handle of the Cockroach Janta Party was withheld on May 21. The group later resurfaced with a new handle, "Cockroach is Back", which currently has over 2.27 lakh followers. Dipke had earlier also claimed that the party’s official Instagram account was hacked and later suspended. "Cockroach Janta Party’s official Instagram account has been hacked. We have lost access to the account,"he wrote in another post from his personal X handle. Dipke, a student at Boston University and a former associate of the Aam Aadmi Party, launched the digital campaign barely a week ago. Since then, the platform reportedly crossed 19 million followers on Instagram before its accounts were restricted. The "Cockroach Janta Party" trend exploded online after controversy erupted over remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a hearing on May 15. The remarks were widely interpreted as likening unemployed youth to "cockroaches" and "parasites". The Chief Justice later clarified that he had been misquoted and that his remarks were directed only at people obtaining "fake and bogus degrees". According to the now-blocked CJP website, a person needed to be "unemployed, lazy, chronically online" and have the "ability to rant professionally" to become a member. The movement also launched a campaign demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged failures in the education system and the claimed NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court declined an urgent hearing on a plea seeking a probe into allegations relating to fake advocates and activities associated with the Cockroach Janta Party. A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi told advocate N K Goswami, appearing for the petitioner, "don’t take it so sentimentally". Goswami argued that despite the CJI’s clarification, a "distorted and malicious narrative" continued to circulate online. Another advocate sought a CBI probe into fake law degrees and alleged misuse of courtroom exchanges for commercial purposes. The petition also sought action against those allegedly involved in the "commercial exploitation" of oral observations made during court proceedings and demanded an investigation into fake advocates practising with fraudulent degrees. Meanwhile,Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee expressed support for the online movement. Derek O'Brien, in a post on X, said both Mamata and Abhishek expressed "their fondness and full support for Cockroaches".