A PIL before the Allahabad High Court sought an NIA and ED investigation into Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, alleging a coordinated digital campaign affecting public order and requesting suspension and blocking of all social media accounts linked to the satirical organisation.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking a multi-agency investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party.
The petition was submitted by Karnataka BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) worker S Vignesh Shishir, who has previously filed multiple cases against Rahul Gandhi.
In the PIL, the petitioner asked the Court to direct authorities to permanently suspend, block and disable all social media accounts, pages, groups, handles, and profiles connected to or operating under the satirical digital outfit. The plea alleged that an “engineered digital campaign” was devised to target India’s youth, disturb public order, and foster hostility against the country’s government.
Allegations in the Petition
The petition stated that subversive elements allegedly used remarks made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant by clipping and circulating selected video segments from live-streamed court proceedings on social media.
The plea read,
“…this Abhijit Dipke is also closely associated with Pakistani Terror Operatives and outfits in Kashmir Valley. Previously since 2019 and several complaints about his anti-national activities are filed with Pune City Police Commissioner Office in the Year-2019 itself,”
According to the petition, Shishir claimed that Dipke is conducting and planning a “digital information war” from a concealed location in the United States, using the CJP to trigger unrest within India.
The plea also made extensive allegations of political involvement and an alleged foreign conspiracy. It claimed Dipke is an active member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and has close links with senior party leader Manish Sisodia. The petition further alleged that Arvind Kejriwal is behind Dipke’s activities.
The petitioner further alleged foreign involvement, stating that according to the BJP worker over Rs 500 crore was allegedly exchanged through hawala channels and cryptocurrency.
Shishir also alleged covert connections between Dipke and individuals including influencer and activist Dhruv Rathee, Arpit Sharma, former US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu, and Pakistani terror organisations active in the Kashmir Valley.
The plea sought to draw parallels with neighbouring countries, claiming the party aims to turn youth into the government’s “enemy,” similar to actions it claims were carried out in Bangladesh and Nepal.
It said,
“It is necessary to note that there is a plan to create the Youth of the Country as enemy of the Govt of India like how it was done in Nepal, Bangladesh and other foreign nations by Foreign Deep State Entities in USA, Turkey and Pakistan and now they have started functioning India behind the nomenclature ‘Cockroach Janta Party,’”
The plea asserted that the satirical outfit poses an “existential threat” to India’s stability and amounts to waging war against the nation. It therefore requested:
- immediate registration of a Regular Case and an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against the founder, and
- an investigation into the alleged activities.
The PIL argued that the case should attract strict provisions under laws including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), National Security Act (NSA), Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
The petitioner also requested the formation of a Joint Investigation Team consisting of senior officers from the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, and Military Intelligence for a thorough probe.
Additionally, Shishir asked for a Look-Out Circular (LOC) against Dipke to prevent and monitor his entry into India, along with diplomatic steps seeking his extradition from the US.
The plea requested the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) to use AI-enabled mechanisms to limit the CJP and its digital presence. It also urged major social media intermediaries, including YouTube, Meta, and X, to preserve evidence such as IP records and geographic metadata before any accounts are disabled.