New Delhi: On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court directed the reinstatement of the account of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which was banned on social media platform X(formerly Twitter). This order was given by the court of Justice Swarn Kanta when the Centre clarified that it now has no objection to unblocking the account. The petition of party founder Abhijit Dipke was accepted by the court and directed X to reactivate the account. This account was blocked before the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
For what reason was X’s account blocked?
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Government, told the court that the account was blocked at the time when the NEET exam was about to be held. The government said that some of the posts being made from the account could create confusion and chaos among lakhs of students and their parents. Based on this apprehension, the decision to ban the account was taken. However, now that the examination has been completed, the government has no objection to its reinstatement.
What comment did the court make?
After hearing the Centre’s stand, Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma said that when the government itself agrees to restore the account, then it should be reactivated. On this, the Solicitor General also told the court that he had no objection to this, but social media should be used responsibly. After this, the court accepted the petition of Abhijeet Dipke and directed the unblocking of the X account immediately.
What was challenged in the petition?
Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke had challenged the order of the central government in the High Court, under which his X account was blocked. It was said in the petition that the account was closed citing national security, while adequate grounds behind it were not made public. Advocate Nakul Gandhi presented his case in the court on behalf of Dipke and demanded restoration of the account.
Had the court heard it before?
During the hearing in this case on May 29, the Delhi High Court had refused to grant immediate relief. The court said that no order can be passed without hearing the side of the central government because the matter has wide legal implications. The court had also indicated that it would examine whether social media platform X could be directed to bring the blocking order on record. Later, the central government changed its stand and agreed to restore the account.
