Delhi High Court Refuses Urgent Hearing Of PIL Seeking Preventive Action Against Cockroach Janta Party's Protest

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to urgently hear a public interest litigation seeking urgent preventive directions to the authorities in relation to a proposed protest by Cockroach Janta Party, scheduled to take place at Jantar Mantar on June 06.

The petition, filed by Save India Foundation, seeks a direction on the Union Government, Delhi Police and other authorities to take preventive and regulatory measures to maintain public order and ensure the uninterrupted functioning of critical infrastructure.

The matter was mentioned today before a vacation bench comprising Justice Saurabh Banerjee and Justice Amit Sharma which refused to urgently list the same.

The plea states that Cockroach Janta Party has been conducting a coordinated online campaign and has issued a call for a large gathering at Jantar Mantar and other parts of the national capital on June 6.

The plea alleges that the campaign has rapidly expanded through social media platforms and has been used to mobilise large numbers of young people.

The petition further claims that certain online content associated with the mobilisation contains inflammatory messages, threats of resistance to law enforcement action and calls for disruption of public infrastructure.

It also alleges that participants have been encouraged to gather in large numbers and that such mobilisation, if left unregulated, could adversely affect public safety, traffic movement and security arrangements in Delhi.

The plea states that a representation was submitted to the Commissioner of Police by the petitioner organization on June 4 seeking preventive and crowd-management measures but no adequate public response or preventive framework has been announced.

Among other reliefs, the petition seeks directions to Delhi Police and civic authorities to regulate, restrict or relocate the proposed gathering, deploy adequate crowd-control arrangements, secure sensitive locations including the IGI Airport and major transport hubs.

It also seeks a direction to ensure that emergency services and public institutions continue to function without disruption.

'Cockroach Janata Party' is a satirical social media movement which emerged in response to an oral comment made by the CJI during a hearing, where he equated unemployed youth attacking systems under the garb of online activism as 'cockroaches'. The CJI later clarified that he was referring to persons with fake degrees. The social media handles of 'Cockroach Janata Party', which amassed millions of followers within a matter of days, were later suspended.

Title: Save India Foundation (Regd.) v. Union of India & Ors

Appearance: Advocate Vikas Sharma Nagwan for petitioner