‘NEET exam over’: Centre okays unblocking of Cockroach Janta Party’s X handle

3 min readJul 7, 2026 02:11 PM IST

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke interacts with supporters as he arrives to meet environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk on the 8th day of his hunger strike during a protest, in New Delhi. (ANI Photo)

The Delhi High Court allowed the unblocking of Cockroach Janta Party’s X account after the Centre Tuesday conceded that it has no objection to the unblocking.

The government orally added that it wants people to be more “circumspect”. Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, told Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, “I have no difficulty (with unblocking of the account). I just want everyone to be more circumspect.”

The concession from the government comes with the conclusion of National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) re-examination.

SG Mehta said, “It was blocked at a time when NEET examination was to take place. Lakhs of students were to appear… several posts (on X) which would’ve created chaos among students and parents. Now the examination is over.”

The re-examination was necessitated after the original NEET-UG 2026 was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak — an issue that became a flashpoint for public anger and triggered a protest movement, including demonstrations by the newly formed CJP, which has been demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Account was withheld in India

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had moved court challenging the blocking of the CJP’s X handle, which, as first reported by The Indian Express, was withheld in India on May 21 after a direction from the Centre following inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that raised “national security concerns”.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) asked X to withhold the account under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. This provision allows the central government to restrict public access to information in the interest of sovereignty, security, public order, or preventing incitement to offences.

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On May 29, the Delhi HC had refused to immediately order for the unblocking of the X account and had relegated Dipke to a government’s review committee to challenge it.

Senior advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for Dipke, had insisted that the court may pass directions to unblock the account and can further direct to keep alleged objectionable tweets blocked, but the court at the time had refused.

Instead the court had relegated Dipke to a review committee, which, as per Rule 14 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009, is mandated to meet “at least once in two months and record its findings on whether the directions issued under these rules” are as per provisions of Section 69A of the Act.

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If the review committee is of the opinion that the directions are not in accordance with the provisions, it is also empowered to set aside such directions and issue orders for unblocking.

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Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court

Professional Profile

Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.

Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).

Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.

She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.

With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:

High-Profile Case Coverage

She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.

Signature Style

Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.

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