PIL in Allahabad HC by BJP worker seeking CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke’s extradition

A PIL has been filed before the Allahabad High Court by a BJP worker seeking the extradition of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke from the US and a multi-agency investigation against him. The PIL filed by BJP worker S Vignesh Shishir will come up for hearing on Tuesday (June 2) before the bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdesh Kumar Chaudhary.

'Deep state' charge agsinst CJP

The development comes at a time when Dipke has announced that he would return to India from the US to hold a protest over the NEET paper leak case, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on June 6 in Delhi.

Also Read: Will return to India, hold protest demanding Pradhan's resignation over NEET: CJP founder

The petitioner alleged that the CJP, a satirical movement which gained a massive following on social media and even surpassed the BJP on Instagram, was a foreign organisation funded by the “deep state”. The PIL further stated that the CJP was acting against the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

Shishir urged the High Court to issue directions for the blocking of all of CJP’s social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal.

What the PIL sought

He also sought the removal of CJP’s posts, videos, reels and other content originating from or associated with Dipke and CJP, which had allegedly distorted and misrepresented the observations of the Supreme Court, reported the Bar and Bench.

Also Read: Cockroach Janta Party linked to AAP? Founder Abhijeet Dipke’s past ties raise questions

In the PIL, Shishir has sought the constitution of an SIT under the supervision of the Ministry of Home Affairs to examine what he described as a “foreign-funded information warfare campaign” allegedly run by CJP and its founder Abhijeet Dipke.

The plea also seeks criminal action by the NIA and ED, issuance of a Look-Out Circular, and Dipke’s extradition from the US. Shishir further alleged that CJP operates against India’s sovereignty and security and claimed that Arvind Kejriwal appears to be the “invisible hand” behind the campaign.

“It is crystal clear that Sri Abhijit Dipke is giving a 'target'/task to his followers/youth of India to trigger mass movement against the Government of India and Judicial Institutions which is directly amounting to waging a war against the country,” stated the PIL.

Rise of the CJP

The CJP surfaced last month as a satirical online movement that rapidly gained traction among young social media users. Its account on X was subsequently withheld following directions issued by the Union government on grounds of national security.

Also Read: 'No need to view CJP as a cause of concern, ' says RSS leader Sunil Ambekar

The movement traces its origins to proceedings before the Supreme Court on May 15, when CJI Surya Kant voiced concern over unemployed youth gravitating toward social media activity and RTI campaigns.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice remarked that such youngsters, "like cockroaches", were becoming parasites in society, later clarifying that the observation was aimed at individuals possessing fake law degrees.