The Allahabad High Court is poised to review a public interest litigation (PIL) on Tuesday, which calls for an extensive multi-agency investigation into the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the extradition of its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, from the United States to India. The petition, filed by S. Vignesh Shishir, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is scheduled to be heard by a Bench comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdesh Kumar Chaudhary.
The Cockroach Janta Party has recently gained attention as a satirical movement, particularly among young social media users. In response to security concerns, the Union government has instructed X Corp to suspend the CJP’s Twitter account. Shishir’s legal challenge not only demands the removal of all CJP and Dipke-related social media accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal but also calls for the deletion of any content that misuses, distorts, or misrepresents observations made by the Supreme Court.
The origins of the CJP movement trace back to Supreme Court proceedings on May 15, where Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed apprehensions about unemployed youth gravitating towards social media and RTI activism. In a controversial statement, CJI Kant remarked that such individuals, akin to “cockroaches,” were becoming societal parasites. He later clarified that his comments targeted those with fake degrees engaging in such pursuits.
Shishir’s petition urges the High Court to establish a special investigation team (SIT) consisting of senior intelligence and investigative officers under the Ministry of Home Affairs’ supervision. The objective is to investigate an alleged “foreign-funded information warfare campaign” purportedly orchestrated by CJP and its founder, Dipke. The PIL also calls for criminal proceedings against Dipke and others by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), as well as the issuance of a Look-Out Circular and the initiation of extradition proceedings to secure Dipke’s return to India from the United States.
Shishir has alleged that CJP operates as a foreign-funded organization undermining India’s sovereignty, integrity, and security. He further claims that former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the principal “invisible hand” supporting the online movement. The plea asserts, “It is crystal clear that Sri Abhijit Dipke is directing his followers to incite a mass movement against the Government of India and Judicial Institutions, effectively amounting to waging war against the country.”
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Previously, Shishir, a resident of Karnataka, had filed petitions with the Allahabad High Court challenging the citizenship of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. He also alleged that Gandhi holds assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
