New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the restoration of the X (formerly Twitter) account of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), holding that the Centre’s reason for blocking the account was no longer valid after the conclusion of the NEET examination.
The court allowed a petition filed by CJP founder Abhijit Dipke seeking the restoration of the party’s social media account, which had been blocked by the Centre earlier this year, reported India Today.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, informed the court that the Centre no longer had any objection to unblocking the account. He said the account had initially been blocked because authorities feared its posts could create confusion and unrest among students and parents during the NEET examination.
Taking note of the Centre’s submission, the court observed that since the NEET examination had concluded, the government’s primary concern no longer survived. It accordingly directed that the Cockroach Janata Party’s X account be restored.
The order marks the end of a legal battle that began after the social media platform was blocked under government directions. In May, the High Court had declined interim relief and instead directed Dipke to approach the statutory review committee constituted under the Information Technology Rules to challenge the blocking order.
The Cockroach Janata Party, a youth-led political group that gained prominence during protests over the alleged NEET paper leak, had argued that the blanket blocking of its entire X account was disproportionate and infringed upon its right to free expression.
With the Centre withdrawing its objection, the High Court’s latest order clears the way for the restoration of the party’s presence on the social media platform.
